New Leadership for Connoisseur San Antonio Announced
Connoisseur Media announces that, beginning in January, current director of sales Morgan Harrison will become market manager for the San Antonio station group the includes news/talk
KTSA. Morgan will take over for Lance Hawkins, who is retiring. Additionally, integrated sales and sports programming manager Dax Davis will rise to director of sales. Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw says, “This is a big moment for our San Antonio team. That market is a vital part of our company, and Morgan and Dax have earned these roles through their hard work and passion for the business. We’re excited to see them lead the next chapter.” Harrison comments, “I am incredibly honored and humbled to step into the role of market manager.
Have you noticed a profile pattern for the mass shooters and political assassins? 20-30 years old. Living at home or close.
launch of Freedom Journeys, a new multimedia storytelling initiative celebrating pivotal figures in Philadelphia’s past and present. Freedom Journeys, created in partnership with Renee Chenault Fattah and Love Now Media, will highlight 250 iconic Black Philadelphians — living and deceased — whose lives and work have helped shape the city. WURD president and CEO Sara M. Lomax says, “Founder’s Day will be a wonderful evening in a beautiful setting — where we will celebrate my father’s life and legacy, have great food, amazing live music and soul-filling affirmations of our culture. But we also aren’t going to shy away from what’s happening in this country. WURD has never done that, and this year’s Freedom Journeys is both celebration and resistance.”
Yorker Radio Hour,” and “Terrestrials,” as well as “Freakonomics Radio,” “Science Friday” and “Today, Explained,” which NYPR distributes – available to at-risk public radio stations at no cost. This initiative comes as the CPB prepares to wind down at the end of September, following a $9.4 billion rescission package Congress approved in July, putting the future of more than 1,500 public radio and television stations nationwide in jeopardy. NYPR says, “This initiative will allow stations to redirect funds they would typically use to license our programs toward sustaining their vital local operations and reporting.”
Ilitch’s program focuses on conversations with guests who exemplify her values of overcoming adversity, staying positive, and giving back. The show will air monthly on WJR on Saturday at 5:00 pm. Ilitch says, “I’m thrilled about the partnership with WJR and Cumulus to bring the positive message of ‘The Denise Ilitch Show’ to a wider audience. All of us agree that the stories we explore on this show have the potential to inspire leadership in big and small ways, locally and nationally.” Ilitch is president of Ilitch Enterprises and is currently serving on the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan. Her father’s company launched the Little Caesar’s Pizza corporation.
Hubbard Radio’s all-news WTOP-FM, Washington is looking for a new morning drive news anchor after Michelle Basch informed the company she will leave her position at the end of the year to relocate out of DC. WTOP director of news and programming Julia Ziegler wrote in a memo to the stations staff, “Anyone who knows Michelle Basch, knows how much she and her husband Mike adore their cabin in Pennsylvania. Michelle and Mike have decided to move there full-time in the Spring, which means Michelle will be leaving WTOP after nearly two decades. The good news? Michelle will continue to anchor AM Drive through the end of the year. She will then do some reporting for us until she and Mike are fully moved to PA. Michelle’s passion for news, commitment to excellence and drive to ‘first get it right, then get it first’ will be greatly missed in this newsroom.” 
influencers while enhancing Audacy’s cross-platform marketing capabilities.” Audacy says MOGL’s AI-powered matching system allows brands to quickly connect with athletes whose profiles align with campaign goals. Audacy chief revenue officer Bob Philips says, “Sports is where Audacy wins and sports media is evolving beyond traditional boundaries. This partnership with MOGL is a testament to our commitment to innovation, providing a powerful content-driven approach that benefits athletes, schools, and our advertising partners. Together, we’ll empower our clients to deliver authentic, high-impact campaigns that resonate with today’s fans and drive measurable brand outcomes.”
complexities of divorce – helping people navigate every stage of the process faster, more affordably, and with far less conflict. Hello Divorce says its service “goes far beyond digitizing forms and redesigns the entire divorce experience with proprietary technology and AI to eliminate costly errors, reduce delays, and remove the bottlenecks that wreak havoc on divorce timelines.” iHeartMedia president of corporate development and ventures Joe Robinson says, “Hello Divorce offers a powerful solution for one of life’s most challenging transitions. This partnership gives them a unique opportunity to connect with people nationwide through our platforms, delivering resources and guidance that can truly make a difference.”
insights. Aragon joined Skyview in 2014, and Skyview says he has “built a reputation among his colleagues and our clients as a highly analytical contributor, whose insights support the sales team, our advertisers, and our networks.” At the same time, Heather Baumanis is promoted to executive director, business development and communications. In this role, she’ll support Skyview’s business portfolio of sports partnerships and maintain and contribute to new and existing client relationships while leading the company’s internal, external, and corporate branding initiatives. 
Democrats in Congress have lashed out at FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for his statements about ABC/Disney and Jimmy Kimmel’s Charlie Kirk bit that got Kimmel suspended from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Last week, Carr appeared on the Benny Johnson podcast and called Kimmel’s statements “some of the sickest conduct possible” and added, “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney… We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” ABC/Disney has television affiliates owned by both Nexstar and Sinclair, which objected to Kimmel’s comments and threatened to pull Kimmel’s show from the air. Nexstar has a $6.2 billion 
merger with Tegna in the works and needs FCC approval and critics of Carr’s comments are calling him out for appearing to threaten ABC. Republican Senator Ted Cruz, on his Premiere Networks podcast ‘The Verdict,’ disagreed with Carr saying, “Let me tell you if the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you the media says. We’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like.’ That will end up bad for conservatives.” President Trump – who’s publicly mused about investigating his media critics – weighed in after being asked about Cruz’s response by saying, “I think Brendan Carr’s a courageous person. I think Brendan Carr doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegal and incorrectly and purposefully horribly.”
House version contains an eight-year sunset provision on the law requiring all cars manufactured in the U.S. to have an AM radio at no extra cost. The Senate version has no sunset provision. WABC, New York owner John Catsimatidis has been very vocal supporting the bill without the sunset provision. “77WABC and all AM radio stations across the country provide life-saving information and emergency alerts to the public. While the committee’s action may be a step forward, a ridiculous last-minute change sunsets the law in eight years. AM is the backbone of the emergency alert system and tornados, hurricanes, and other disasters won’t go away.”
WTOP, Washington is announcing that its business reporter Jeff Clabaugh died last Thursday at the age of 63 after a yearlong battle with cancer. WTOP says that Clabaugh, “whose steady-paced voiceconversationally delivered money news to the D.C. region for three decades,” was “a master of consumer business news” who “gave reports twice an hour on WTOP’s airwaves and wrote punchy, popular stories for WTOP.com.” WTOP director of news and programming Julia Ziegler wrote to the staff, “Jeff Clabaugh made WTOP’s Business Reports what they are today. His work ethic was incredible. And his voice was so smooth. He was one of the best storytellers in the WTOP newsroom.” 
Federal Communications Commissioner Anna M. Gomez issued a statement criticizing the Commission’s threats against ABC that, in part, led to the suspension of the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” program. Her statement is as follows: “We cannot allow an inexcusable act of political violence to be twisted into ajustification for government censorship and control. First, an ABC reporter was told that his coverage amounted to hate speech and that he should be prosecuted simply for doing his job. Then, the FCC threatened to go after this same network, seizing on a late-night comedian’s inopportune joke as a pretext to punish speech it disliked. That led to a shameful show of cowardly corporate capitulation by ABC that has put the foundation of the First Amendment in danger.
Carolina Senate District 12 seat – Justin Bradley, Lee Bright and Hope Blackley – will take part in the 90-minute debate in which WORD hosts Joey Hudson and Bill Frady will moderate the debate. Audacy South Carolina operations manager Mark Hendrix says, “This debate will give our listeners and the community a chance to hear directly from the candidates, understand their positions, and make informed decisions as election day approaches.”
and “Up First” stayed in the #1 and #2 spots, respectively. News/talk radio related shows of note include Cumulus Podcast Network’s “VINCE” rising two places to #11 and iHeart Audience Network’s “Armstrong & Getty On Demand” climbs two places to #22. The ranker is based on weekly average downloads for participating publishers. 
Region and Darla Isham is appointed vice president, Northern Region. Other excutive appointments include Aaron Carreno as SVP of product; John Scott as VP of marketing, and Drew Smith as VP of technology. Weil comments, “This leadership restructuring reflects our commitment to providing exceptional service to our listeners and communities across our coverage areas. Each of these executives brings deep experience and a passion for local broadcasting that aligns perfectly with our mission to serve as the voice of our communities.”
Sports” from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, “Nine2Noon” hosted by John Kuhn and Ramie Makhlouf, “The Mason Crosby Show” with Mitch Thunder Nelles from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm, and “Wisconsin Sports Daily,” hosted Steve “Sparky” Fifer remaining in PM drive. Audacy Wisconsin SVP Jason Bjorson says, “As we celebrate the station’s 20th anniversary, we wanted to match our listeners’ passion by assembling the dream team here at ‘The Fan.’ With legendary names and two former Green Bay Packers players on our roster, we are going full-throttle. We’re excited to bring our fans the best talent in the market and give them the most entertaining sports coverage Wisconsin has to offer.”