KBLA, Los Angeles Kicks Off Year-Long Climate Justice Campaign
SmileyAudioMedia, Inc announces that flagship station KBLA, Los Angeles “Talk 1580 AM” is launching a $2 million, 12-month Climate Justice Campaign with four clear objectives: center the voices of communities of color in the climate conversation, connect at-risk fellow citizens with advocacy organizations, increase climate health literacy, and highlight frontline climate justice crusaders of color.
The company says that the initiative will achieve these objectives with a robust schedule of climate-themed broadcasts and special programming during the next 12 months, four free community events (one per quarter), two town halls broadcast nationally from Los Angeles, and a savvy social media and marketing campaign. KBLA says its public and private partners in this initiative include: LADWP, Metro, the Port of Los Angeles, CalEndow, California Community Foundation, the Sierra Club, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and others who will join the campaign in Q2, Q3 and Q4. Chief visionary officer and nationally 
syndicated talk host Tavis Smiley says, “The harsher impacts of climate change weigh heavily on communities of color. In these underserved communities, families are less likely to have air conditioning, shade trees, bus shelters, water and energy effective appliances and other infrastructure that’s critical to mitigate a changing climate. As the most ‘trusted, credible and reliable’ media source in Southern California for African Americans and beyond, our talk station is committed to do more than just talk in these troubled times. There is a clear connection between Dr. King’s moral consistence on the notion of reverence for human life or the interconnected nature of life and the future of our world house. On this MLK holiday weekend, KBLA assigns itself the task of elevating the climate conversation by amplifying the voices of those who are most impacted by the climate catastrophes we are all witnessing in real time. In a real sense, climate is king.”
Sears used to sell everything. Tractors, tires, insurance, investments, chickens. In 2004, Sears was the dominant retailer in America. By the end of the decade, it was feverishly closing stores and dying.
Let’s take a minute to welcome back an old reliable that has been part of our sales and marketing world since Adam pitched Eve and got the first “yes” on the original cold call. No telling how cold that call really was.
TALKERS founder Michael Harrison will talk about 
had begun switching off automatic downloads for users who haven’t listened to five episodes of a show in the last two weeks. But while few users noticed the shift, some of the biggest podcasts in the world saw their official listener numbers drop dramatically. Long-running shows that publish frequently were hit particularly hard. A user who listened to a show like The New York Times’ ‘The Daily’ a few times, subscribed, but stopped listening would continue to count as a download indefinitely. Even better under the old rules: For people who listened to a show, dropped off for a while, but started listening again later, Apple would automatically download every show in between. The arrangement drove big download numbers, a crucial metric for ad sales and a sign of the vast reach of podcasts as a medium.” 
Take a day off. You get one free this year.
44 years. Ken Squier passed away in November and his daughter Ashley tells WCAX-TV, Burlington that the station that’s provided local sports, news, commentary, and more will be in good hands. “I feel that this is a very good day and a very good development. Dad loved community radio.” The station says that former Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former Ethan Allen Institute leader Myers Mermel will serve as owner-operator. Mermel tells WCAX-TV he wants the station to remain local. “We want to look at different ideas and new ideas in order to increase our ability to discover and identify and bring in content.” 
reach to more than 350 affiliates nationwide. DeMuro hosts the “Rich On Tech” segment on KTLA-TV, Los Angeles and hosts a podcast of the same name. He says, “Doing this show is so much fun. The secret is really the listeners. They are my inside track to what the everyday tech user is curious about. It’s my goal to ensure listeners are ahead of the curve – all in a way that’s easy to understand.” Premiere Networks president Julie Talbott states, “We’re so proud of the continued growth and success of ‘Rich On Tech.’ We partnered with Rich DeMuro to create a fresh, intelligent and entertaining program covering the world of technology, and we couldn’t be happier with the result. We look forward to celebrating many more milestones together.”
can advance their mission and enable them to better-serve communities with quicker alerts and more local news, he shared broadcasters’ concerns about AI without appropriate guardrails in place. He presented three primary concerns; 1) that the use of broadcasters’ news content in AI models, without authorization, diminishes their audience trust and their reinvestment in local news; 2) the use of AI to doctor, manipulate or misappropriate the likeness of trusted radio or television personalities risks spreading misinformation or even perpetrating fraud; and 3) the rising prevalence of deepfakes make it increasingly burdensome for both newsrooms and users to identify and distinguish legitimate, copyrighted broadcast content, from the unvetted and potentially inaccurate content being generated by AI.
The program is also being produced for national syndication on terrestrial radio as well as being available on the FOX News YouTube channel. The program will tackle the latest headlines from Cain’s unique perspective along with thought-provoking longform interviews with leading figures and live calls from viewers and listeners. Cain comments, “This is it! This is what I want to be a part of in our national conversation. More. More engagement, more debate, more dangerous conversations, more free thinking, more fun.”
After 4G enabled Uber and other apps now-common, inventors are flexing 5G. And grab-the-armrest for what 6G and 7G will bring. Just when we’re blasé about Wi-Fi, we are told that Li-Fi will use light to transmit data.
company’s existing $75 million accounts receivables financing facility to $100 million. The DIP financing, the upsize of the accounts receivables financing facility and the company’s cash from operations and available reserves will enable Audacy to fulfill commitments to employees, advertisers, partners and vendors. The court also authorizes Audacy to continue to pay employee wages, salaries and benefits without interruption and to pay vendors and suppliers. This latest news comes after the company entered into a restructuring support agreement (“RSA”) with a supermajority of its debtholders. Under the terms of the RSA, the debtholders committed to vote in favor of a plan of reorganization that, when consummated, will equitize approximately $1.6 billion of funded debt, a reduction of 80% from approximately $1.9 billion to approximately $350 million. Audacy says it does not expect any operational impact from the restructuring, and trade and other unsecured creditors will not be impaired.
real-time-bidding across iHeartMedia’s broadcast and digital audio inventory through a single activation channel. iHeartMedia chief data officer and president of revenue strategies Brian Kaminsky says, “With today’s consumers spending a third of their media time with audio, expanding programmatic’s access to iHeart’s audio assets is imperative for the industry. Not only are we expanding what role programmatic can play for advertisers, we are also improving the efficacy of their campaigns by allowing them to use real-time data to message their audience in the most engaging way possible, in an environment of trust and interest. We’re excited to expand our partnership with Magnite because they have proven expertise in programmatic and the ability to build technology fit for the unique needs of audio advertising to take its place in omnichannel.”
Podcast Network on January 16. New shows will be delivered three times per week. Salem SVP of spoken word Phil Boyce says, “Lara Trump is a true star in conservative political circles and has developed a fan base of millions. She is committed to doing her part to save America, and we are thrilled to have her join our excellent lineup.”
This column should really be called, “How I got transferred from Buffalo to Tampa.” The storyline will help explain the title and offer you a proven technique that should help you sell and earn more.
“105.5 FM/1400 AM has a strong history in Clarksville as a source for trusted local news and exciting national commentary. And now, 5 Star Media Group is excited to relaunch the station in a way that honors the spirit of this city and the people who live here. Welcome to ‘The Patriot,’ Clarksville’s newstalk station, featuring local news from ClarksvilleNow every hour Monday through Friday, along with national news from CBS Radio.” 5 Star Media Group operations director Ryan Ploeckelman adds, “In a community with so many military connections – from active duty to veterans, and all the connected families – Clarksville has a deep spirit of patriotism. We’re proud to honor that spirit with this new name and new look for the station.”
fans worldwide who want more in-depth content about the team and behind-the-scenes access and Bucks+ Audio will provide this with podcasts and on-demand audio. Good Karma Brands Milwaukee market manager Greg Scalzo states, “We are excited to partner with the Milwaukee Bucks and redefine the on-demand listening experience for fans. Bucks+ Audio introduces a new era of immersive sports content, from the episodic allure of ‘Behind the Bucks’ to the passionate ‘Hear District’ and the concise, detailed recaps of ‘Bucks in 6,’ the platform is a perfect audio companion for Bucks and NBA fans.” Additionally, Good Karma Brands is currently seeking an editor-in-chief to oversee content strategy, collaborate with creators, represent the brand, ensure a positive user experience and more for the platform. Learn more here: 
dedication and service to the broadcasting industry and to the Foundation’s charitable cause. BFoA chairman Scott Herman says, “The Broadcasters Foundation and the broadcast industry lost a great man. As chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation for many years, Phil left an indelible mark. He was passionate about our mission and one of our biggest donors, giving both time and money to helping colleagues in need.” To honor his longstanding dedication to the Broadcasters Foundation, in 2000 the Board passed a near unanimous vote to rename the annual golf tournament and fundraiser, held during the NAB Show in Las Vegas, to the Philip J. Lombardo Charity Golf Tournament. The one ‘no’ vote was cast by Lombardo. The majority of Lombardo’s storied career was focused on buying, turning around, and selling TV stations for his privately held company, Citadel Communications. In 2003, Lombardo was elected to serve as joint board chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters. He was inducted into the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame in October 2015.
Research shows that readers to trade publications like articles with five bullet points. Here are my five bullet points for 2024. If these were to be deployed, you could be thriving by the end of the year. These actions would increase sales and audience share.
hiring Ernst & Young LLP. Yesterday (1/4), Urban One filed the following with the SEC: “On January 4, 2024, Urban One, Inc. announced that it had received notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC confirming that it has regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c) (the “Periodic Filing Rule”) which requires listed companies to timely file all required periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission… with the company in compliance with the Periodic Filing Rule, Nasdaq has ceased any action to delist the company’s securities… Nasdaq has informed the company that it will be subject to a Mandatory Panel Monitor for a period of one year, or until December 29, 2024. If, within the one-year monitoring period, the company again fails to comply with the Periodic Filing Rule, the company will not be permitted to provide the Nasdaq Staff with a plan of compliance with respect to that deficiency, nor will the company be afforded a cure period. Instead, upon the Nasdaq Staff issuing a delist determination letter, the company would then have an opportunity to request a new hearing with the initial Hearing Panel or a newly convened Hearing Panel if the initial Hearing Panel is unavailable.”
New York; KNX-AM/FM, Los Angeles; and KCBS-AM/KFRC-FM, San Francisco. As part of the deal, CBS News Radio provides its full news and programming to the Audacy stations, including top-of-the-hour newscasts, CBS WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP, breaking news, special events coverage, correspondent interviews, and audio. Paramount Global EVP of podcasting and audio Steve Raizes states, “This new agreement ensures listeners in the top markets continue to get CBS News Radio’s award-winning national and global news for years to come. This new agreement continues our long-running relationship with Audacy and its stations.”