Industry News

Jeff Katz Drops Puck for Special Needs Community

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Pictured above dropping the puck is WRVA, Richmond afternoon host Jeff Katz who “put on the foil” to help Virginia’s Law Enforcement Patriots hockey team this past Saturday (4/27). The Patriots hockey team is comprised of Central Virginia law enforcement officers who compete in charity games to raise awareness of, and funds for, a variety of special needs organizations. After Katz dropped the first puck for this week’s Autism Awareness game, he was presented with a custom jersey as he was named “Honorary Captain” of the team to salute him for his longstanding support of the team, law enforcement officers and the special needs community. The game was a huge success, raising more than $12,000.

Industry News

2024 Black Effect Podcast Festival Held in Atlanta

Last Saturday (4/27), iHeartRadio and Charlamagne Tha God presented The 2024 Black Effect Podcast Festival at Pullman Yards in Atlanta designed to “highlight, uplift and amplify Black voices in the podcast industry.” For the second year in a row, the festival brought together podcast fans and The Blackim Effect Podcast Network’s top talent for a day of live podcast recordings from the network’s most popular shows including: “Carefully Reckless with Jess Hilarious,” “WHOREible Decisions,” “Black Tech, Green Money” and “Deeply Well with Devi Brown,” featuring special guests John Hope Bryant and Dr. Joy Harden-Bradford. The festival also featured special live recordings of hit shows “Pour Minds,” “The Baller Alert Show” and guests Wallo267 and Gillie Da King. Additionally, the event included the panel discussions “Podcasting 102: Money and Marketing” and “Content Authenticity x Brand Partnerships.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

Pennsylvania-based radio and television host John Fredericks – operator of the John Fredericks Radio Network – confirmed he is “strongly considering” a campaign for the Chair of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Republican National Convention. Fredericks says grassroots voters propelled him to a “landslide” victory to become an RNC delegate to nominate former President Donald Trump. Fredericks told The Pennsylvania Daily Star, “I’m only considering a run for delegation chairman due to the outpouring of support I’ve gotten and the number of people that have asked me to run. I am going to the convention for one purpose, and that is to make sure that President Trump’s agenda is executed to precision.”

Salem Media’s New York Christian Teach & Talk radio station WMCA “AM570/FM102.3 The Mission” is partnering with the Christian Cultural Center to host a day honoring the many hardworking pastors and ministry leaders of New York and their service to the citizens of the city. The WMCA Annual Pastors Appreciation Breakfast & Ministry Exhibition will be held on Friday, May 24.

PodcastOne’s “Baby Mamas No Drama” is named the People’s Choice Winner 2024 for Best Lifestyle Podcast in the 28th Annual Webby Awards Internet Celebration. The podcast is hosted by Kail Lowry and Vee Rivera, two hosts who are both part of the cultural phenomenon MTV television show, “Teen Mom.”

Industry News

Yesterday’s (4/29) Top News/Talk Media Stories

The pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses and the seizing of Hamilton Hall by protestors at Columbia; the Israel-Hamas war; the presidential race and the latest polling data; former President Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial in NYC; Marjorie Taylor Greene’s move to oust Mike Johnson from House Speaker post; four police officers are killed in Charlotte while serving a warrant; Antony Blinken’s trip to China; and the Supreme Court’s hearing arguments of presidential immunity were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.

Industry News

iHeartMedia Pulls the Plug on “The Freak”

According to a report in the Dallas Observer, the 16-month run of talk on KEGL-FM, Dallas as The Freak is over, and the station is returning to its rock roots as “97.1 The Eagle.” The Observer piece cites Athlon Sports’ report by Richie Whitt that broke the news. Dallas radio legend Mike Rhyner – who joined theim station after retiring from Cumulus Media’s crosstown sports talker KTCK-AM/FM “The Ticket” tells the Observer that he and castmates Julie Dobbs and Jeff Cavanaugh were let go on Friday (4/26). Rhyner says, “I could be standing at the New Mexico border and still see this coming. It’s a feeling that I and plenty of others at the station had been getting for some time now. iHeartRadio is a music company that really doesn’t do that much talk radio, and the talk radio they do is not local or locally originated, and they got caught into something [97.1 The Freak] they didn’t know anything about, and they were kind of overwhelmed by it, and they decided that ‘this is not our bag.’” Whitt’s Athlon story noted that “lagging ratings” and the talent expense [high overhead] had the station in corporate’s fiscal sights. Read the Observer piece here.

Industry News

Report: Francesa Says Tom Brady “Not Going to Be Great” TV Analyst

The publication Marca reports that former WFAN, New York afternoon drive legend Mike Francesa has a not great prediction about Tom Brady’s probability of success as a FOX Sports NFL color analyst. The seven-time Super Bowl winner will begin his 10-year, $375 million gig with FOX this September, takingim over for Greg Olsen alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. Francesa is quoted saying that Brady obviously has a deep knowledge of the game but he believes Brady will struggle. “I don’t think his personality is such. I don’t think he’s going to be great at it. I really don’t. I think there’s a unique quality that you have to bring that allows you as an analyst to see the game, see the game quickly, plus bring personality into it. It’s a tricky job for the analyst in football because you’re going to spend a lot of time over replay. You’re going to spend a lot of time breaking down what happens on replay. And you also have to be very personable and glib in how you do it. I don’t see him there.” Read the Marca story here.

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories Over the Weekend

The pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses and the Israel-Hamas war; the presidential race; former President Donald Trump’s legal battles; the White House Correspondents Dinner; homelessness and the courts; the U.S. migrant crisis; Kristi Noem dog killing controversy; Marjorie Taylor Greene’s campaign to oust Mike Johnson from House Speaker role; and the deadly Oklahoma tornadoes were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media over the weekend, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.

Industry News

Doug Stephan’s “Good Day” Restructures for Weekends and Flex Schedule

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Talk host Doug Stephan announces that his daily morning radio show – airing consistently for the past 36 years – will cease its Monday through Friday live distribution via Wegner/Echobox on May 3. The current “Good Day Show with Doug Stephan & Jai Kershner” will be transitioned into two four-hour weekend programs, “Good Day Saturday” and “Good Day Sunday” that will be delivered to affiliate stations via FTP. Stephan says the two programs will be hosted by himself and Jai Kershner and will continue to feature regular and special guests. The programs will be modular so that in addition to airing them on the weekend, stations can air them as a one- or two-hour program. Stephan adds, “This isn’t goodbye, but it is changing when and how we will deliver our program. Weekends are a vast wasteland of infomercials and reruns. The content on this new show aligns with the same positive approach – features and friends that listeners have become accustomed to from ‘Good Day.’ This new program is deliberately formatted so each hour stands on its own and can be used in any daypart on the weekend or weekdays, and it can be aired more than once, should you want to do that.” United Stations Media Networks is handling FTP distribution and Stephan notes that his podcast programs remain unchanged, including the daily “Good Day” podcast. For more information contact Mike McVay at mikemcvay@mcvaymedia.com or Doug Stephan at doug.stephan@gmail.com.

Industry News

New RAB CEO Appears on “Chachi Loves Everybody” Podcast

The latest duo of podcasts hosted by Benztown president Dave “Chachi” Denes have dropped. Joining Denes on the “Chachi Loves Everybody” podcast are new Radio Advertising Bureau CEO Mike Hulvey and Epic Media founder Brad Samuel. The two programs were recorded at the recent 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Listen to them here.

Industry News

Beasley Southwest Florida Raises Funds for Golisano Children’s Hospital

Beasley Media Group’s Southwest Florida radio stations – including sports talk WBCN-AM, Fort Myers – joined forces with Children’s Miracle Network to shine a spotlight on Golisano Children’s Hospital and raised more than $50,000 for pediatric healthcare during a radiothon held on April 4. Beasley Soutwest Florida VP and market manager AJ Lurie comments, “We have an amazing team, and I am grateful to work with them. I am grateful to everyone who made this event a success. We are proud to partner with Children’s Miracle Network and Golisano Children’s Hospital. Thank you to each person who donated and every sponsor who supported our efforts.”

Job Opportunity

WHO, Des Moines Seeks Talk Host

iHeartMedia is seeking a talented talk show host in a rare opportunity to join one of America’s great radioim stations… the legendary WHO in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines is a wonderful place in which to live with terrific amenities. You will work with strong local management invested in your success. WHO is a ratings and revenue leader that is looking for opportunities to grow and win. You could be the next chapter in the second century of WHO serving Iowa! Find out more and apply here.

Job Opportunity

Baltimore Station Seeks GSM

A heritage radio station in Baltimore, MD is seeking a creative, hands-on manager with a passion for helping account executives develop their skills and meet and exceed company goals.

Candidates should have a record of success in media sales and management, experience selling a conservative talk format, and a strong background in digital sales. The ideal candidate should be an expert in coaching and developing all levels of sellers.

This is a full-time position with compensation to include salary, overrides, and incentives.

Please send your resume or contact information to radiosalesmanager@gmail.com.

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories for Week of April 22 – 26

The pro-Palestinian protests on numerous U.S. college campuses was the most-talked-about story in news/talk media this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM.  At #2 this week was the Donald Trump “hush money” trial, followed by the Supreme Court presidential immunity case at #3. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed in news/talk media during the week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See this week’s complete chart here.

Industry News

Audacy Laying Off Staffers

As it prepares to emerge from Chapter 11 reorganization, Audacy is embarking on a staff reduction program that it says will affect “less than 2%” of the company’s workforce. WEEI, Boston sports reporterim  Mike Kadlik is one former Audacy staffer who took to social media to announce that he’s now a free agent. He posted to X, “My time with @WEEI has come to an end due to company-wide reductions. Very tough to swallow right before the NFL Draft, but I’m looking forward to continuing covering the #Patriots in some way.” Though the total number of people being let go is not known, it’s expected that more former employees will use social media to let the industry know they are available.

Industry News

Writers Union Files Grievance Against iHeartMedia

According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter, the Writers Guild of America East has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company’s management alleging that it has intimidated workers and encroached on their rights to discuss their working conditions and share union literature during break periods. iHeartMedia and the iHeart Podcast Union have been in negotiations for two years over theim workers’ first contract. The union says iHeartMedia has “violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act ‘by restricting protected Section 7 speech, by engaging in intimidating conduct and by interrogating employees about their support for the union.’” imThe union’s complaint adds, “When we have posted flyers about the union, management has removed these materials within the day, often within minutes… union members have received emails discouraging this activity, pointing out company policies about distributing literature in working areas, without acknowledging our federally protected right to discuss our working conditions or to distribute information about our union to our colleagues. Non-bargaining-unit employees and managers have used common work areas to openly disparage our union literature and efforts to inform unit members.” iHeartMedia has not responded publicly to the grievance. Read THR’s story here.

Industry News

LaBrozzi Says Bye to The ‘Burgh

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Audacy Pittsburgh threw a “Goodbye ‘Burgh Party” for news/talk KDKA-AM brand manager Dave LaBrozzi, who is retiring from his role with the station. Pictured in the photo above are back row (l-r): new brand manager PJ Kumanchik, regional VP programming Mark Anderson, KDKA-FM “93.7 The Fan” brand manager Kraig Riley, market manager Michael Spacciapolli, LaBrozzi, KDKA-AM morning host Larry Richert, former Audacy Cleveland OM Dave Popovich, and consultant Mike McVay. Front row (l-r): events, promotions and marketing manager Amy Mauk, sales manager Christine Fallon McKenna, and sales manager Denise Suba.

Industry News

Corinne Baldassano to Receive MIW’s Trailblazer Award

Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc names Corinne Baldassano, the 2024 MIW Frances Preston Trailblazer. Baldassano most recently served as SVP of programming & marketing at Take On The Day, LLC/“The Dr. Laura Program.” The Trailblazer Award is named after music industry pioneer and longtime BMI president and CEO Frances Preston and is presented annually to a woman who,im through her leadership and accomplishments in the industry, champions and creates opportunities for other women in radio to further their careers. MIW board president Ruth Presslaff comments, “Corinne’s remarkable career firmly establishes her as a Trailblazer. In addition to all she’s accomplished, her selfless devotion to mentoring women and men, and absolute delight in helping them achieve their goals, is the essence of who she is. She is truly a mentor of mentors. We are thrilled to recognize her with our highest award.” Baldassano says, “I am honored to accept this year’s Trailblazer Award from MIW. As I built my career, it was natural for me to offer guidance to others who also wanted to take a similar path.  And it’s turned out to be one of the most important and satisfying things I’ve ever done.  I’m proud of those I have mentored, and I’m humbled to be recognized by an organization committed to fostering the growth of broadcasting’s next generation of women. I’m happy to see my work and theirs come full circle. Thank you!”