Focus On Controversy KXL Builds A “Larswich” WINS Wants To “Chat”

Focus On Controversy – On the eve of Super Bowl weekend, tongues are wagging about an ad produced by Focus On The Family featuring college football star Tim Tebow and his mom. FOTF President/CEO Jim Daly tells us the behind-the-scenes story of the controversy.

KXL Builds A “Larswich” — Will twice the Lars be twice the fun in Portland? More details in “Network/Syndication Notes” on page two.

WINS Wants To “Chat” – Check out the CBS Radio NYC all-newser’s “online-only” radio station. We’ll hook you up in “Emerging Talk Media” on page two.

Read it all HERE in NTS MediaOnline Weekly.

WABC/New York and KABC/Los Angeles will both debut Doug McIntyre’s Red Eye Radio on Monday, February 8th. Billed as “the newest evolution in overnight Talk radio,” Citadel Media will syndicate the program and says a number of additional major market affiliates will be announced shortly. McIntyre (pictured) pioneered Red Eye Radio on KABC before moving to morning drive on the SoCal News/Talker. Late last year, he exited wake-ups at KABC and hinted at the time that a return of his nightly 1-5am (ET) program could be in the wings. WABC Program Director Laurie Cantillo calls the new all-night show “a refreshing live alternative to traditional overnight fare which is canned, conspiratorial, and just plain dull,” while KABC PD David G. Hall calls it, “A fabulous program and a terrific alternative to UFO and ghost shows.”

A recent post by Jake Hird on the Econsultancy.com blog offers “20+ Mind-Blowing Social Media Statistics” that are just that — mind-blowing. Here are just a few good reasons from Hird on why you need to crank up your station or company’s social media efforts and, if you’re a personality, your personal presence in the medium: There are more than 3.5 billion pieces of content — web links, news stories, blog posts, etc. — shared each week on Facebook; By the end of 2009 the average number of “tweets” on Twitter reached 1.3 million per hour; More than 700,000 local businesses (likely many of your clients and advertisers) have active Facebook pages; More than 35 million Facebook users update their status every day. Check out even more “mind-blowing” stats about the booming growth of social media as a marketing tool HERE.

PS: You’re invited to use social media to get “breaking news” alerts by following NTS MediaOnline Today on TWITTER, or join our Talk media community of friends on FACEBOOK.

Female-focused FM talker WFMP/Minneapolis opts for a makeover to become “My Talk 107″ with new call letters KTMY. The mostly local lineup on the Hubbard Broadcasting talker remains unchanged … Syndicated radio talker Leslie Marshall dishes some Hollywood dirt on HLN’s Showbiz Tonight at 11pm (ET) tonight. She’ll talk business tomorrow night (2/5) on FOX Business Channel’s America’s Nightly Scoreboard at 7pm (ET) … If you missed Jon Stewart with Bill O’Reilly last night, FOX News has the video HERE (scroll down to the “featured videos” box) … Finally, NTS MediaOnline Today offers a huge “congratulations” to Talk Radio Network syndicated host Rusty Humphries on his engagement to auto industry exec and entrepreneur Tricia Lyons (that’s the happy couple pictured). A February 17th Hawaiian wedding is planned. Email Rusty and Tricia your best wishes HERE.

While the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints may have been the number one topic of this week’s Super Bowl pre-game news, it’s a pretty safe bet that a decision by CBS Television to air a commercial produced by Focus On The Family was a pretty close second. In this week’s edition of NTS MediaOnline Weekly, FOTF President/CEO Jim Daly says he’s been surprised by the backlash over the yet-to-be-seen ad that features college football star quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. Daly offers his insights into the controversy and also talks about his upcoming March 1st takeover as the radio voice of Focus On The Family. Oh, and he offers his pick — sort of — on who will be the big winner on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s all in the Friday, February 5th issue of NTS MediaOnline Weekly. Look for it in your inbox first thing tomorrow morning.

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As NTS MediaOnline Today previously tipped readers, former Salem Radio Network Christian talker Janet Parshall has officially joined the Moody Radio Network where she will host a new daily afternoon program, from 5-7pm (ET), beginning May 3rd. Parshall (pictured), who has hosted her daily Talk radio show from Washington, DC for the past 15 years, is widely respected in the Christian Talk media industry for her show’s biblical perspective on current events and issues. Her new daily afternoon program marks an extension of the relationship between Moody and Parshall, who has been hosting a weekly Saturday show, Talking It Over With Janet Parshall, on the network for the past two and a half years. “Moody Radio is the broadcasting gold standard for the proclamation of biblical truth,” said Parshall of her new network. ”In a day where we can so easily be taken captive with vain and hollow philosophies, I relish the opportunity to encourage our listeners to pursue the mandate of speaking the truth in love.”