Cashing in on America’s hottest topic, the Swine Flu, WGN/Chicago fill-in host Randy Miller will host a “Flu Mask Fashion Show” tomorrow at 10am outside the Tribune News/Talker’s Windy City “Showcase Studios” on Michigan Avenue. Ten listeners will vie for a trip to Cancun — yep, as in Cancun, MEXICO — wearing flu masks that they’ve decorated themselves. A panel of WGN representatives will judge the decorative masks based on originality and creativity. No word on just who will judge the contestants’ sanity. The always controversial Miller — best known for his years on the air in Kansas City — is filling in for WGN’s Kathy And Judy Show this week from 9am-noon. Tomorrow’s contest broadcast will be streamed live at www.wgnradio.com.

That’s the question posed by veteran WCTC/New Brunswick, NJ morning man Jack Ellery. “I’m the morning mouth to a lot of listeners and no one on the state or local level has given me a drop of information,” he says. “What do we do if the hospitals are overloaded? On a normal day you can wait hours in an emergency room. If we close the schools and there’s a single parent who must work, who takes care of a sick child? Will employers still pay hourly workers who have to stay home and if not, how will they pay their bills? Will we foreclose on them, will we kick them out of their apartments? There are so many questions and so few answers. We’ve had years of warnings about pandemics, but does anyone have a plan?” Ellery adds that the danger may not be the flu, but rather the scare tactics, false info and “stupid speculation” some in the media have put forth. “Shouldn’t we in the media be informed by someone in authority? So far, most of us have had to reach out on our own. What the hell do we pay these people for?”

How well are state and local officials in your area doing at keeping your station informed on plans for a pandemic situation? Are you finding them to be proactive, or do you have to prod them for info? What plans have you put in place at your station? Let us know at al@ntsmediaonline.com.

WTOP/Washington VP News and Programming Jim Farley confirms that the Bonneville all-newser currently has the highest 12+ share of all stations measured by PPM, Monday-Sunday 6am-midnight, in the January-February-March surveys. WTOP is also ranked #2 (behind WVEE/Atlanta) in Adults 25-54 among all PPM markets for the same period. Meanwhile, Anthony Licciardi, Director of Marketing at KSFO/San Francisco, checks in to crow a little about the Bay Area News/Talker’s latest PPM trends. “KSFO posted our highest ratings since Arbitron began measuring the market with PPM,” he says. “In a very liberal place like the San Francisco Bay Area, this conservative station is making waves and we’re all pretty excited about it. The past two months have gone up and we’re now over a 4.0 (12+). Give us a few more months and we’ll be threatening our big brother, KGO!”

Do you have a ratings story you’d like to brag about? Email it to me at al@ntsmediaonline.com and we’ll tell the industry about your success.

Edison Media reviews the newly re-tooled KFWB/Los Angeles which has recently evolved from its general all-news format to a focus on the market’s hometown industry, Hollywood. Check out Sean Ross‘ “First Listen” at www.infinitedial.com … Westwood One names Steve Harrison VP/Director of Sports Sales and Marketing. Based in Orlando, Harrison will report to the network’s SVP/Sales Susan Love. Harrison spent the past ten years in the same role for International Speedway Corporation’s MRN Radio network … Greater Media CEO Peter Smyth and Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs will anchor a session entitled  ”Responding To Change” at the upcoming Media Financial Management Association conference, May 12-14 in Atlanta … Sirius XM Radio has launched First 100 Days Radio, a three-day channel devoted to President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office. The channel runs from today through Saturday, May 2.

In a format where most of the news, as well as the topics your hosts are talking about, ranges from bad to downright scary these days, how can News/Talker’s avoid “bad news burnout” by listeners? In times like these, can News/Talk stations still afford to have some fun? In the May 1st edition of NTS MediaOnline Weekly we offer a few suggestions for timely promotions that confront today’s bad news headlines head-on, offering both a break for listeners weary of negative news, and opportunities to create new revenue in tough times. Read it only in this week’s issue of NTS MediaOnline Weekly arriving in your inbox tomorrow morning.

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