TALKERS News Notes
Audacy Buffalo Holds Radiothon for SPCA of Erie County. News/talk WBEN-AM and sister station WLKK-FM in Bufflo helped raise $132,000 during the 22nd Annual SPCA Serving Erie County Radiothon. Audacy Buffalo SVP and market manager Tim Wenger comments, “This annual event really brings the community together and the amount raised is a testament to the generosity of our listeners. We love supporting SPCA’s mission and giving second chances to pets and animals in Buffalo.”
Bold Gold Media Stations Hit Fundraising Goals. Via two of its ongoing holiday fundraisers, Bold Gold Media Group’s radio stations in the Pocono Lake Region of Pennsylvania produced the The Wayne County Ford & Bold Gold Media Holiday Toy Drive Challenge and The Michael G. Stanton Shower for Charity. The Holiday Toy Drive Challenge saw listeners fill up at least four pick-up trucks with toys for needy kids and for the 24th year in a row, market manager Michael G. Stanton stood in a claw foot tub on Main Street in Honesdale in 20-degree weather clad in only Christmas-themed shorts and raised more than $46,000 for the Wayne County Childrens Christmas Bureau.
“105.7 The Fan” in Milwaukee Helps Raise $100k for Kids. Audacy sports talk “105.7 The Fan” (WSSP-FM / 1250AM) in Milwaukee – with the help of two of its sister music outlets – collected more than $100,000 in toys and cash to benefit Children’s Wisconsin Immediate Impact for Kids Fund. Station host and assistant brand manager Steve “Sparky” Fifer says, “I’m so proud of everyone involved in the 19th Annual Toy Drive for Children’s Wisconsin. We couldn’t make this a success without everyone in the community and around the state of Wisconsin contributing to it. The number of kids that these toys will impact is the reason we do this each year. There isn’t anything better than a smile on a kid’s face.”
JVC Broadcasting Helps Set Record in Long Island Toy Drive. Last Friday, JVC Broadcasting of Long Island conducted the JVC Town of Brookhaven INTERFACE Toy Drive featuring air personalities from all six JVC Long Island stations – including “LI News Radio” – to collect thousands of toys donated by generous community members that will go to more than 7,500 children, ranging in age from infants to 15 years old, helping ensure that families across the community experience joy during the holiday season. JVC president and CEO John Caracciolo says, “This is what local radio and local government working together is all about. When you bring the community together around a cause, incredible things happen.”
director at WIVB-TV, Buffalo and served as a weekend anchor at WBEN-AM in 2002 and at sister WGR-AM in 1999. Audacy Buffalo SVP and market manager Tim Wenger states, “Lisa’s extraordinary background in leading award-winning content generation in local television news will be invaluable for WBEN as it continues to evolve as the radio station that’s always there when the community needs it the most. I look forward to Lisa taking an already stellar brand to new heights.”
conversations and connections on topics relevant to our local communities throughout the year.” The next “Audacy Conversations” explores the state of downtown. It says, “Over three years later, America’s cities are still grappling with challenges and unexpected fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. WBBM Newsradio (WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM) in Chicago will host a live town hall on November 9 to explore those impacts in-depth and what’s at stake for businesses and community members as cities look to revitalize their downtowns.” The program will air on WBBM Newsradio, KRLD NewsRadio 1080 (KRLD-AM) in Dallas, WWJ News Radio 950 (WWJ-AM) in Detroit, KNX News 97.1 FM (KNX-FM) in Los Angeles, WCBS 880 (WCBS-AM) in New York, KYW Newsradio (103.9 FM/1060 AM) in Philadelphia and KCBS All News (106.9 FM/740 AM) in San Francisco on November 16 at 7:00 pm local time. It will also air on WBEN-AM, Buffalo; WCCO-AM, Minneapolis; WWL-AM/FM, New Orleans; KDKA-AM, Pittsburgh; and KMOX-AM, St. Louis. Throughout the week of November 13 to 17, the all-news stations will air special content catered to the town hall topics, including interviews, news stories and feature reporting.
manager Tim Wenger and WBEN-AM morning drive personality Susan Rose are a married couple – for 30 years now – who met at WBEN in 1986 when Tim was 
hired as a programming assistant and Susan trained him for the position. Tim has risen through the programming ranks to become SVP and market manager and Susan co-hosts the news/talk station’s “A New Morning” show with Brian Mazurowski. Interestingly, Tim has been Susan’s boss since 1993, including during the period when they co-hosted the “Buffalo’s Evening News” program together in the mid- to late-1990s. They are featured in a profile story in the Buffalo News. 