AJC: Research Behind Changes at CMG’s 95.5 WSB in Atlanta
In an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Rodney Ho, program director Ken Charles reveals the reasons for the programming changes that have taken place at Cox Media Group’s news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM over the past year. Charles says that when longtime morning host Scott Slade announced he
was stepping back from his duties, that allowed the station to use internal research to consider the best options to tweak its programming. That resulted in the station naming longtime station reporter and anchor Chris Chandler the new morning host, swapping late morning and afternoon hosts Mark Arum and Eric Von Haessler, and making Shelley Wynter solo host in evenings and giving his former co-host MalaniKai Massey her own Saturday night program. Charles says, “I feel very comfortable that we’ve got the right people in the right slots. We are set to grow our success.” Read the AJC story here.
expanding the “Morning XTRA” show to 6:00 am to 10:00 am. Dickey Broadcasting says, “The addition ‘The Kimmer Show’ demonstrates Dickey Broadcasting’s commitment to building a dominant and world-class news/talk radio station in Atlanta and the region and we thank our loyal advertisers and listeners for helping us build this great station.” Station morning host and content director Tug Cowart comments, “As our listenership grew, the demand for a local afternoon show grew. Our social media and phones all asked for the same thing, ‘The Kimmer Show.’ How could we go any other route? A local and iconic Atlanta talk radio voice and what our listeners wanted from us. It’s the way these decisions are supposed to made.”
The first of four rounds of ratings data from Nielsen Audio’s April 2023 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including 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). Nielsen’s April 2023 sweep covered March 30 – April 26. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this group of markets. In New York, Red Apple Media’s news/talk WABC is steady with a 3.7 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) but falls one spot to the #10 rank, while iHeartMedia’s crosstown news/talk WOR stays put with a 1.9 share and remains ranked #18. iHeartMedia’s news/talk KFI, Los Angeles adds two-tenths for a 4.3 share finish and rises to the #4 rank. In San Francisco, Audacy’s all-news KCBS-AM/KFRC-FM falls seven-tenths to a 7.3 share but remains ranked #1 in the market, while Cumulus Media’s crosstown news/talk KSFO rises half a share to a 1.8 share that lifts it to the #19 rank. Cox Media Group’s news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM, Atlanta tacks on four-tenths for a 7.0 share finish and remains ranked #3 in the market. 
the same time, the station moves host Mark Arum (center) from afternoon drive to the 9:00 am to 12:00 noon daypart and “The Von Haessler Doctrine” hosted by Eric Von Haessler (right) shifts to the 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm slot. Station director of branding and programming Ken Charles comments, “‘95.5 WSB’ has such a deep roster of talent, and I’m excited to promote Chris to this new role. As part of the process, we took the time to examine the entire station lineup. Additionally, we asked our audience what they expected from WSB. These changes reflect those expectations and leverage our local stars to position the station for the future.” About his new role, Chander says, “It is the honor of a career to step into one of the great heritage radio news programs in the country. Scott Slade can’t be replaced, but I’m committed to maintaining the integrity, consistency, and fairness he brought ‘Atlanta’s Morning News’ over his legendary run.”
The first of four rounds of ratings data from Nielsen Audio’s March 2023 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including 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). Nielsen’s March 2023 sweep covered March 2 – March 29. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this group of markets. In New York, Red Apple Media’s news/talk WABC-AM & WLIR-FM “77 Talk Radio” dips two-tenths to a 3.7 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) but rises one spot to the #9 rank, while iHeartMedia’s crosstown news/talk WOR rises two-tenths to finish with a 1.9 share good for the #18 rank. iHeartMedia’s news/talk KFI, Los Angeles is unchanged with a 4.1 share and remains ranked #5 in market, while Audacy’s crosstown all-news KNX-FM climbs four-tenths to a 3.3 share and rises to the #10 rank. In San Francisco, Audacy’s all-news KCBS-AM/KFRC-FM adds two full shares to finish the survey with an 8.0 share and leaps from #3 to #1 in the market. Cumulus Media’s news/talk WBAP, Dallas shoots up eight-tenths for a 3.4 share finish that lifts it from the #16 rank to #12. 
The first of four rounds of ratings information from Nielsen Audio’s February 2023 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including 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). Nielsen’s February 2023 sweep covered February 2 – March 1. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeways from this group of markets. In New York City, Red Apple Media’s news/talk WABC-AM is flat with a 3.9 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) and falls to the #10 rank, while iHeartMedia’s crosstown news/talk WOR-AM is steady with a 1.9 share but rises one spot to the #18 rank. iHeartMedia’s news/talk KFI, Los Angeles is flat with a 4.1 share but rises one spot to the #5 rank in the market. In Chicago, Nexstar Media Group’s news/talk WGN-AM sheds two-tenths to finish with a 3.2 share good for the #10 rank, while Audacy’s all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM rises three-tenths to finish with a 4.8 share and remains ranked #4. 
February 2023 PPM Data – Information for the February 2023 ratings period 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.
combination of perspectives on sports, culture, current events and day-to-day life that our listeners will find to be informative, entertaining and funny. They’ve quickly developed a chemistry that I think will lead to 
noon to 3:00 pm ET. Erickson says, “We are thrilled to embark on this next chapter of our growth and are so appreciative of our friends and partners who have supported us.” Compass Media Networks CEO and founder Peter Kosann states, “At a critical time in our nation’s history and just as the public starts to turn their attention to the upcoming presidential election cycle, we are thrilled to bring Erick Erickson to the national stage. Erick is a winner by every metric, and we are lucky to call him our friend and colleague.”
informative discussions aimed at aspiring podcasters in the Black community. The festival will be hosted by Charlamagne Tha God and “Carefully Reckless” host and comedian Jess Hilarious. Charlamagne Tha God says, “In 2023, Black creators are at the forefront of a movement reverberating across today’s cultural landscape, and we’re excited to bring this to life for the community at The Black Effect Podcast Festival in Atlanta this spring. With this festival we want to inspire and uplift new and aspiring podcasters while also showcasing the incredible voices on The Black Effect Podcast Network.”
The first of four rounds of ratings data from Nielsen Audio’s January 2023 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including 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). Nielsen’s January 2023 sweep covered January 5 – February 1. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways for this group of markets. In New York, Red Apple Media news/talk WABC-AM/WLIR-FM rises eight-tenths for a 3.9 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) that lifts it to the #9 rank, while iHeartMedia’s crosstown news/talk WOR is up six-tenths for a 1.7 share finish good for the #19 rank. iHeartMedia’s news/talk KFI, Los Angeles is off three-tenths, finishing with a 4.1 share and the #6 rank, while Audacy’s crosstown all-news KNX-FM tacks on three-tenths to wrap the survey with a 2.8 share good for the #9 rank. In Chicago, Nexstar Media Group’s news/talk WGN-AM adds six-tenths for a 3.4 share and the #9 rank, while Audacy’s crosstown all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM dips three-tenths for a 4.5 share finish and the #4 rank. 
January 2023 PPM Data – Information for the January 2023 ratings period 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.
Tulsa; WOKV-FM, Jacksonville, and WHIO-AM/FM, Dayton. WSB director of branding and programming Ken Charles says, “For more than a decade, Erick has done a great job of entertaining and informing the WSB audience about the biggest news stories of the day. I’m proud we’ll continue our partnership for another three years, and I’m 
excited about what new things we can create moving forward. The best is yet to come!” Erickson says, “‘95.5 WSB’ is not just home, it’s the gold standard of talk radio, with incredible leadership from Ken Charles and Jaleigh Long. I fell into the role by accident 12 years ago. It’s not just the longest job I’ve had, it’s three hours of joy every day working with the best people in radio. I simply cannot imagine doing anything else anywhere else with any team other than the hard-working talent at ‘95.5 WSB.’”
Steve DeLusant says, “Victor and Travia are the perfect combination to lead our sales efforts for ‘Power 105.1’ and the WWRL 1600 AM ‘Black Information Network.’ Both 
Victor and Travia have strong experience and knowledge working in the multicultural space. I am excited to have them join our team and watch them take our brands to the next level. Their additions will position our team for long-term success at iHeartMedia New York.” Giacomelli joins the iHeartMedia New York team from Audacy Denver where he was the director of sales. Charmont joins the iHeartMedia New York team from Audacy Atlanta where she was a senior AE.
preoccupied with the next time the alarm will go off!” CMG Atlanta VP and market manager Jaleigh Long comments, “There is no one else like Scott Slade. His credibility, professionalism, and passion for delivering the best for listeners is unmatched. I’m excited for what the future holds as we take these next steps with Scott, our audience and our clients.” Slade joined WSB in 1984 as the overnight music host. He was one of the “founding fathers” of “Atlanta’s Morning News” in 1991. Slade initiated the “WSB Radio Care-a-Thon” in 2000, benefiting the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The annual event has raised more than $30 million to fight children’s cancer and blood disorders. WSB director of branding and programming Ken Charles says, “The ‘S’ in WSB stands for Scott. His dedication to the show and station, and his commitment to excellence, are unparalleled. He is truly the GOAT of morning radio!”
announces he’s assuming operation of the station as he is now acquiring it for $500,000. Shows airing on the station include “The John Fredericks Show” in morning drive, as well as Stephen K. Bannon’s “War Room,” Newsmax’s “Rob Carson Show,” “America’s Voice Line with Steve Gruber,” “The Water Cooler” with David Brody and more.
platforms. Additionally, he will actively build and foster community relationships across the market and region, while providing leadership, guidance and oversight to the team. Division president Kim Guthrie says, “Spencer has done a superb job in his leadership role in Texas, where he drove positive changes in culture and performance. In addition, his talents on how best to recruit, develop and coach a leadership team make him a wonderful fit for our needs here in Atlanta.” Bynes comments on his new position, saying, “What an extraordinary opportunity! Atlanta has a robust and flourishing economic business environment, a fascinating community of people from every part of the world and an incredible music culture and heritage. I am honored to join this team. I look forward to expanding iHeartMedia’s reach and influence and helping our customers thrive and grow their businesses.” 
The first of four rounds of ratings data from Nielsen Audio’s Holiday PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including 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). Nielsen’s Holiday 2022 sweep covered December 8 – January 4. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this group of markets. In New York, Red Apple Media’s news/talk WABC-AM & WLIR-FM dips two-tenths to a 3.1 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) good for the #10 rank, while Audacy’s all-news WINS-AM/FM adds four-tenths to finish with a 4.6 share that lifts it to the #5 rank. Audacy all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM, Chicago dips one-tenth to a 4.8 share that keeps it locked in the #4 rank, while Nexstar Media Group news/talk WGN falls two-tenths to finish with a 2.8 share good for the #12 rank. In Dallas, Cumulus Media’s news/talk WBAP, Dallas-Fort Worth tacks on four-tenths to wrap the survey with a 3.7 share that puts it in the #7 rank. And Cox Media Group’s WSB-AM/WSBB-FM, Atlanta falls one share for a 4.4 share finish good for the #7 rank. 
