Yesterday’s (4/23) Top News/Talk Media Stories
The Donald Trump “hush money” trial in NYC; the aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that includes the demand that ByteDance sell TikTok within a year or it is banned in the U.S.; the pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses and Israel’s plans to invade the city of Rafah; the Supreme Court to hear arguments on Idaho’s abortion law and arguments over former President Donald Trump’s contention he has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution; the U.S. migrant crisis; and Tennessee passes law allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
The first of four rounds of ratings information from Nielsen Audio’s March 2024 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). The survey covered February 29 through March 27. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this group of markets. In New York, Red Apple Media Group’s news/talk WABC rises two-tenths to finish with a 4.0 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) that lifts it to the #9 rank in the market. iHeartMedia’s news/talk WOR is steady with a 1.6 share and the #20 rank, while Audacy’s all-news WINS-FM adds one-tenth for a 4.6 share good for the #5 rank. In Los Angeles, iHeartMedia’s news/talk KFI inches up one-tenth for a 5.5 share that keeps it locked into the #3 rank. In Chicago, Nexstar Media Group’s WGN-AM dips three-tenths, finishing with a 3.2 share and the #9 rank, while Cumulus Media news/talk WLS-AM falls six-tenths to a 1.4 share good for the #25 rank. Audacy all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM is steady with a 5.4 share but falls back to the #4 rank. 
Monticello Media’s WCHV-AM, Charlottesville, Virginia, is acquiring WTON-AM, Staunton, Virginia and two FM translators (W255DS, Harrisonburg at 98.9 and W266BQ, Crozet at 101.1) from Stu-Comm, Inc. for $275,000. Thomas is buying the station via his company Thomas Media LLC. After Monticello Media learned of the deal, it severed its relationship with Thomas. He tells TALKERS magazine, “We are looking forward to bringing local news and conversation back to the valley the same way we did for WCHV. We also hope to have my show back on the air in Charlottesville soon.”