The Board of Directors of the Southern California Broadcasters Association has named industry veteran Thom Callahan to lead the organization as its new President. Callahan (pictured), most recently president of Callahan Communications, previously served as Director of Sales for Los Angeles-based Radiate Media. The 30-year industry pro has also held senior management positions with the Associated Press, CBS Radio, and Metro Networks. He’ll assume his new role with SCBA on June 3rd … BONUS TUESDAY GIG ALERT!! Word out of KFI/Los Angeles is that reporter/anchor Chris Lane is leaving the Clear Channel News/Talker to pursue a non-radio position in Texas. Prior to joining KFI in 2010, Lane served as morning anchor at KFBK/Sacramento for six years. News Director Chris Little reports that Lane’s departure opens the door to a prime opportunity at one of America’s great News/Talk stations. Rush your resume and audio to him HERE. Meanwhile, look for more “Gig Alerts” — as always — on page two of the May 17th edition of our regular Friday feature publication, NTS MediaOnline Weekly.
Barbara Walters, longtime ABC News journalist and creator of ABC-TV’s midday talk show The View, took to her own show today to confirm rumors that have circulated for awhile now that she will retire in the spring of 2014. That’s ABC News Radio reporter Aaron Katersky getting the official word straight from Walters this morning on the set of The View … The nominees for the RAB’s 2013 Radio Mercury Awards have been released and among them is Alpha Broadcasting/Portland. The Oregon cluster — including News/Talk KXL-FM and Sports/Talk KXTG — has been nominated in the ‘Integrated Radio Campaign’ category for its Bing Lounge campaign. View/hear it HERE. And see all of this year’s Radio Mercury Award nominees HERE .
With the annual Memorial Day holiday weekend just over two weeks away, stations looking for special programming would do well to check out Fisher House Foundation’s A Grateful Nation, a three-hour tribute to America’s military, available May 25th-27th. For details reach out to Kurt Kretzschmar HERE … Meanwhile, FOX News Radio is offering affiliates two one-hour specials for the Memorial Day holiday weekend including Remembering Iraq, hosted by Griff Jenkins; and The Next Disaster, hosted by Janice Dean … On the lighter side, ABC News Radio affiliates can pick and choose from three one-hour specials for summer’s official kick-off weekend including Car Crazy! America’s Love Affair with Cars, anchored by Cheri Preston and Michael Barr; ABC’s Summer Survival Guide 2013 anchored by Alex Stone; and ABC ‘s Super Epic Summer Movie Special of Steel anchored by David Blaustein.
Don Imus (pictured) will broadcast his 24th annual radiothon to benefit the Imus Ranch for Kids With Cancer next week. The two-day fundraiser will air from 6-10am (ET), May 14th and 15th, on Imus’ flagship WABC/New York, cable TV’s Fox Business Network and on Cumulus Media Networks’ Imus In The Morning affiliates nationwide … The Radio Television Digital News Association has announced that FOX News host and anchor Chris Wallace will be honored with the group’s 2013 Paul White Award, recognizing a lifetime of achievement and service to the profession of electronic journalism. Wallace will be feted on August 25th during the 2013 Excellence In Journalism convention at Southern California’s Anaheim Marriott Hotel … As we first told our Facebook friends late yesterday (5/8), Talk Radio Network and late night host Phil Hendrie will part ways upon expiration of Hendrie’s contract next month. TRN will air Roy Masters’ nightly advice-driven program in Hendrie’s 1-4am (ET) slot.
Cox Media Group promotes 15-year company veteran Kim Guthrie to Executive Vice President/Radio for the Atlanta-based broadcaster. Guthrie, who joined the company in 1998 as VP/GM of its Long Island stations, was most recently SVP/Radio, where she has already been overseeing all of CMG’s radio markets since 2012. She also currently serves on the Executive Board for the RAB … Sun Broadcast Group taps network radio sales pro Cheryl Winer to become the Florida-based media company’s National Account Manager. Winer (pictured) brings over 20-years of network and radio sales experience to her new job, including a lengthy stint at Premiere Networks. Winer officially begins her New York City-based gig next Monday (5/13). Reach out to congratulate her HERE … Jim Fox has been upped to OM at Entercom/Sacramento, where he’ll oversee operations for the entire cluster that includes Sports/Talker ESPN Radio 1320 (KCTC).
Arbitron released its Radio Today 2013 study to clients today and there’s a lot of good news in it for News/Talk radio. News/Talk — designated by Arbitron as ‘News/Talk/Information’ plus ‘Talk/Personality’ — remains the number one format in PPM-measured markets, and the number two format in the rest of U.S. diary measured markets. Radio Today 2013 notes that, like other spoken word formats, News/Talk continues to rank “prominently” in highly educated, high income listeners. The just released study also offers an interesting look at a map of the U.S. showing where the format both outperforms and underperforms its national average. States where News/Talk performs “substantially above” the national average include Alaska, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont and Massachusetts. Conversely, those states where the format performs “substantially below” the national average include Montana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Indiana, North and South Carolina and Maine. The full Radio Today 2013 report is currently available only to Arbitron clients. However, non-subscribers can access an ‘Executive Summary’ of the study HERE.
In a recent post to his company’s blog, Paragon Senior Research Consultant Larry Johnson explores some facts that “leaped out” to him from the recently released Arbitron/Edison Research Infinite Dial 2013 study that could help to explain why some radio operators and formats have been slower than others to see benefits from Social Media initiatives. Calling it a “demographic digital divide,” Johnson points out that older demos — a prime audience for News/Talk stations — have not yet embraced social media in anywhere near the numbers that that those 12-44 have. “People over 45 are far less likely to have a profile on any social media network (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) than their younger counterparts,” writes Johnson. “And while 86% of people 18-24 have such a social media profile, only 58% of the 45-54s do; 43% of those 55-64, and 29% of people 65-plus.” Read more of Johnson’s analysis HERE.
As Nielsen gets closer to consummating it’s previously announced deal to acquire Arbitron, the company sells off it’s non-core conference and convention division, Nielsen Expositions, to the Onex Corporation for a reported $950 million. The SoCal-based division of Nielsen employs some 240 employees and produces more than 65 business-to-business trades shows and conference events annually … Kudos to the crew at Clear Channel/Albany News/Talker WGY-AM & FM who, in conjunction with their sister station 99.5 The River, recently raised over $626,000 in donations for the Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center. Funds were raised during the stations’ annual Cares For Kids Radiothon for the hospital that provides services and programs to 25 counties in and around the Capital Region … Congrats to The Dave Ramsey Show’s Ike Wingate and his wife Michelle on the birth of daughter Olivia Rose on May 3rd. That’s Ike’s son Ely (pictured) welcoming his new baby sister to the family. No confirmation on rumors that the baby is already talking and that her first words were, “I’m debt free!”
Chicago Sun-Times blogger Mark Lazerus details events that preceded Comcast SportsNet/Chicago’s firing of reporter Susannah Collins for a slip of the tongue that didn’t even include profane language. In post-game coverage of the NHL Chicago Blackhawks’ overtime playoff victory this past Tuesday night (4/30), Collins (pictured) excitedly reported that the team has had “a tremendous amount of sex” during the regular season, then quickly corrected herself to say “success.” Enter Social Media and within seconds Collins’ lip-slip was tweeted, Facebook’d and YouTube’d around the world, making her instantly famous. That’s something her bosses at Comcast were apparently not comfortable with, although an official statement released by the company denies that her gaffe had anything to do with her getting pink-slipped.
Question Of The Day Number One: What Windy City station or show is going to be smart enough to hire Collins immediately?
Question Of The Day Number Two: Was this, in your opinion, an offense a staffer at your station would get fired for? Email us your comments HERE.
This morning’s topping of New York City’s new One World Trade Center with a flag draped spire stimulated a mix of emotions from several NYC Talk radio professionals that NTS MediaOnline Today spoke with today who were there on that fateful September morning:
“I live with this memory every day – really — every day. I witnessed the collapse and I’ve watched the renaissance. Read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” I am proud to see this 1,776-foot building stand in defiance of those who deem their beliefs to outweigh ours. The fact that I am free to say what I think should prove that the structure is a metaphor for our resolve. And I am personally struck by the fact that the tallest piece of the puzzle is a radio antenna!” – David Bernstein, Bernstein Talent
“For those of us who covered the September 11th attack from New York, this topping out of the new World Trade Center is a bittersweet moment. It’s interesting to reflect on what is the most significant story of our careers and how a massive building, which was destroyed in a matter of hours, was responsible for two wars, thousands of deaths, and has taken more than 12 years to rebuild.” – Chris Berry, 24/7 News Source
“I lost two friends that day, Fireman Chuck Brown and Wall Streeter and author James Paul. They went to work and were murdered by cowards. That week after the attacks I heard a remarkable, inspiring event. WLTW — the ‘Lite AC’ station in New York — took phone calls to let listeners share their feelings. It was transcendent. I heard voices on the air that I had never heard before — people sharing their heart and their personal stories … young women talking with their friends. It was the best Talk radio I had heard in years and I’ve heard nothing better since.” – Walter Sabo, Sabo Media
“I know some of the men and women who built this. Their commitment and pride to their work was extraordinary. And yet, also knowing many who passed, today’s milestone is not without a lot of sadness.” – John McConnell, McConnell Media
Share your thoughts on our Facebook page HERE.
