Industry News

Industry Mourns Gary Krantz Who Died Tuesday at Age 65

Gary Krantz, founder of Krantz Media Partners, died on Tuesday (1/21) at the age of 65. He entered the radio business after graduating from Emerson College. He served with syndicator MJI Broadcasting from 1981 through 1996. He joined AMFM Radio in 1997 as EVP of programming and, after then-Clear Channel’simg acquisition of AMFM, took on an EVP role at Premiere Networks. He was the president of the fledgling liberal talk radio company Air America and joined Westwood One after Air America shut down in 2006. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison states, “This is a devastating loss to the radio industry. I had the privilege of working with Gary all the way back to my music radio days when he was a young executive at the old MJI Broadcasting with major industry players like Julie Talbott and Josh Feigenbaum in the early days of our careers. He has subsequently worn a number of key management and entrepreneurial hats in the business – all reflecting his dedication to professionalism and quality.  He was very well liked and respected by broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic. He will be missed.” A service will be held on January 26, 2025 at Riverside Memorial Chapel at 180 West 76th Street, New York, NY 10023. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Gary Krantz’s memory.

Industry News

Former OK City Talk Host Carole Arnold Dies at 85

The Oklahoman reports that former Oklahoma City talk radio host Carole Arnold died last Friday at age 85 after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Arnold worked for then-Clear Channel Communications for about 20 years, including eight as a host at news/talk KTOK. She left KTOK in 1996 and later worked at KNOR, Norman and KOMA, Oklahoma City (now KOKC). Read the full obit here.

Industry News

TALKERS Vice President/Executive Editor Kevin Casey is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

Last month marked the 33rd anniversary of the launch of TALKERS magazine – the talk media industry trade publication founded by Michael Harrison in July of 1990. The term “talk media” established and popularized byim the journal refers to AM, FM, online and satellite talk radio, cable news/talk TV, and talk podcasting.

Marking this third-of-a-century milestone, TALKERS longtime VP/executive editor, Kevin Casey is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Casey, then a program director for Clear Channel’s WHYN, imSpringfield, MA, joined TALKERS as its managing editor almost a quarter-of-a-century ago in 2000. The big story during that pre-9/11 year was the excruciatingly inconclusive presidential election between Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore that took over a month to settle.

Michael Harrison states, “I’ve been blessed with a tremendous group of media professionals who operated and built TALKERS into the established communications vehicle that it has proven to be in many ways paralleling the growth of talk radio and its offshoots for more than three decades. One of the key individuals who has been responsible for its growth and longevity is my dear colleague, Kevin Casey.”

In a casual conversation between longtime friends and co-workers, Harrison and Casey take stock of the publication’s journey which parallels the historic role of talk radio’s modern era. Hear the complete podcast here.

Sales

Pending Business: Keep It Simple

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

 

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The thing about great leaders is their ability to keep the mission simple.

I once asked a Super Bowl champion coach how he coached temperamental wide receivers earning millions of guaranteed dollars each season. His answer was elegantly simple. I tell them, “You get paid to just catch the ball.” Sounds simple, right? Except when two opponents are coming for you at Mach 4 speed, trained to deliver that bone crushing collision to make you regret even thinking “just catch the ball.” The mission is simple yet executing the mission, not so easy. And so it was with the legendary Lowry Mays, founder of Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia.

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