» Severin Severs Ties With Imus The Boston Herald reports today that WTKK/Boston afternooner Jay Severin says he'll no longer agree to be a guest on the syndicated Imus In The Morning show because Severin says he's "tired of being insulted" by Don Imus. Severin, who was a strong defender of the I-Man when he got in trouble last year over the infamous "nappy headed hos" incident, said that during a recent appearance Imus called him "a moron" and generally treated him (surprise!) rudely. Severin says he wrote a letter to Imus asking not to be invited to appear on future shows and added that since returning to the air last December Imus, "has seemed very unreceptive to viewpoints such as mine -- i.e. conservative. Certainly anti-Obama." Read the full story from Herald reporter Jessica Heslam HERE

» Obama Up, McCain Down: With recent polls showing Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican rival John McCain in the race for the White House, ad spending by both candidates is reflecting a similar pattern. For the week of October 6-12, Obama ran 18,029 radio ads -- up 1,209 over the previous week -- vs. McCain's 3,031 radio spots -- down 25 ads from the previous week. On television the story is much the same: the Obama camp aired 15,257 broadcast TV ads last week vs. 4,809 for McCain. And although the McCain campaign did increase spending on cable TV, the Republican was still far behind Obama in spending on that medium, airing just 2,464 ads vs. 7,344 that were run by the Democratic hopeful. Media Monitors has the full report and its weekly analysis of the candidates' spending HERE.

» Worth TIVO'ing: Tonight's appearance by John McCain on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman should be worth watching to see how McCain responds to Letterman's relentless bashing of the Republican presidential candidate ever since McCain bailed out of a recently scheduled appearance on the late night talk show. How McCain can turn things around was the subject of a stinging version of Letterman's signature "Top 10" list this week, and the Arizona Senator has also been a nightly target of the comedian's monologues. A sample: "John McCain says he's going to win the third presidential debate. Of course he also told General Custer that the surge was working." Check your local listings for tonight's Late Show smackdown.

» Chopper Crashes Into Radio Tower: A medical transport helicopter operated by Air Angels reportedly clipped the guide wire of Sports and Talk WBIG/Aurora, IL late last night, damaging the station's tower and killing all aboard the chopper including a 14-month old child who was being transported to Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital. The chopper was reportedly flying lower than WBIG's 750-foot tower when it went down in a field in the suburban Chicago community. Station officials told WBBM-TV that WBIG was taken off the air after the crash but is back on the air today. Until stability of the tower is established Aurora fire officials have evacuated 16 nearby homes. You can see a press conference with details on the crash HERE.

» Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Do you think former Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick is sick of hearing that infamous line yet? McCormick dropped in for a chat with ABC News Radio's Director of Programming Wayne Fisk this week to promote her new autobiography Here's The Story.

» In Tomorrow's NTS Aircheck Weekly: As radio continues to debate the move to measure audience via PPM vs. diaries, a small technology company is quietly developing a cell phone based system that can measure audio ad effectiveness across multiple platforms in today's multi-media world. Plus, FOX News has developed an intern program that consultant Harve Alan calls "a model to find tomorrow's talent." Read all about it exclusively in the October 17 edition of NTS Aircheck Weekly arriving in your inbox tomorrow morning.

» Back To School: That's CNNRadio correspondent Steve Kastenbaum pausing for a Kodak moment outside the auditorium at Hofstra University, site of last night's third and final presidential debate between Democrat Barak Obama and Republican John McCain.