Tag: "AM 970 The Answer"

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Entercom Boston VP of Programming Jason Wolfe to Present Closing Keynote at Talkers New York 2013.  In what promises to be a timely, pertinent and compelling conclusion to one of the most important industry conferences in modern memory, Entercom Boston VP of programming Jason Wolfe will deliver the closing keynote address.  The address is titled “Reflections on a Tragedy and the Fundamental Role of Radio.”  It will provide insight and first-hand recollections of the Boston Marathon bombings from the local perspective of a Boston radio group that found itself in the thick of the national crisis.  In accepting the assignment, Wolfe tells TALKERS, “It was such a remarkable, emotional and dramatic situation that it is taking me weeks to sort out my thoughts and feelings on the experience.  Our group was just one of a number of fine Boston-area radio stations that did an excellent job of being there for the people of the region with news and information about the unfolding drama.  It was a remarkable time of sharing, of pooling resources among competitors, for the good of the  community.”  Wolfe, whose Entercom Boston outlets include news/talk WRKO and sports talk WEEI, continues, “…but it isn’t just about the presentation of news and information – talk radio provides a more complex and deeper service during times like this.  And this includes many music stations that stopped playing songs and became, for all intents and purposes, talk stations themselves during the crisis.  Talk radio provides the opportunity for people to vent and share feelings…to plug in directly to the human condition.  It provides the opportunity for people to become connected into a community of fellow human beings linked together by common fears, pain, and confusion during a tragedy.  Talk radio provides hope.  Or at least, it should.”  Wolfe sums it up: “I believe that we as broadcasters share a deeper more fundamental responsibility to the public than just being entertainers.  We must use this precious opportunity we have to actually serve the public good on every level within our power.”  Wolfe is one of more than 50 outstanding industry leaders who will be speaking at Talkers New York 2013 on Thursday, June 6.  The event will be sold out by the close of business on Wednesday of this week.  Registrations ($199) are only open to members of the working media and can be booked by phone with credit card at 413-565-5413.  For the complete agenda and more details, click here.

Clear Channel Names Brian Kaminsky EVP of Operations for Digital.  Coming over to Clear Channel from his most recent position as COO and general manager of The Huffington Post, Brian Kaminsky will join the company’s digital division as executive vice president of operations, effective immediately.  Kaminsky will report to CC president of digital Brian Lakamp and will be based out of New York City.  Kaminsky’s charge will be to oversee digital advertising operations, customer support, product analytics and partner operations across the suite of Clear Channel’s digital products including iHeartRadio, Clear Channel’s industry leading digital radio service, and its vast network of station websites.  His responsibilities will also include setting best practices for the management and modernization of digital ad inventory, and working with sales and product teams to define and develop new ad products.  Lakamp states, “Having Brian on board as the EVP of operations illustrates Clear Channel’s commitment to hiring exceptional, innovative talent that will continue to strengthen our position as a market leader.  His business management skills and experience in optimizing the use of digital advertising inventory within technology-driven organizations will be a great asset to both our advertisers and the Clear Channel digital team.”  Prior to his work at The Huffington Post, Kaminsky was vice president of global revenue operations at Reuters Media, where he supervised yield management systems for desktop, video, mobile and digital out-of-home advertising products.

SiriusXM Names James Meyer CEO.  James Meyer has been serving as interim chief executive officer for SiriusXM Satellite Radio since Mel Karmazin resigned from the position last fall.  Now, the company gives him the job officially.  SiriusXM chairman Gregory Maffei states, “After a thorough search of excellent candidates, we are delighted to name Jim as the CEO of SiriusXM, where he will continue to lead a very strong executive team.  Jim is a highly qualified leader and operator and we look forward to working with him to build on SiriusXM’s position as the innovator in audio entertainment.  He has been a vital part of SiriusXM for close to a decade, and his extensive knowledge of SiriusXM’s business and significant industry experience will be invaluable assets in the highly competitive market within which SiriusXM is thriving.  Jim’s leadership, strategic vision and operating focus are exactly what SiriusXM needs today and in the future.”

Debate of Future of Dashboard Front and Center in Detroit.  In a piece published in the Detroit News on April 29, the topic of the future of the AM/FM radio in the automobile dashboard was addressed and Gartner Inc. vice president Thilo Koslowski says he believes that by the year 2020 “I feel very confident that many consumers will consume radio content through avenues other than terrestrial broadcast.”  Right now, the big three are still providing AM/FM radios in new cars and plan to do so for the foreseeable future but, obviously, they are also adding the digital technology that people want.  Ford’s Jim Buczkowski says, “We’re trying to give them lots of different options.”  As the piece points out, it costs money to listen to internet audio – it comes from the users’ data plans.  Though Koslowski says he believes that it just makes more sense to listen via Wi-Fi or data plan and that carriers will “get more creative with their data plans”  allowing people to listen more cheaply.  When Detroit Electric unveils its first model in August of this year, it will not have an AM/FM radio.  Users will plug in their smartphones.  Still, other analysts say the free and simple nature of AM/FM radio is something that carmakers will be conscious of before they take the drastic step of eliminating it from the dash and risk alienating customers.   Read the Detroit News piece here.

WNYM, New York’s Curtis Sliwa and Jeffrey Lichtman Debut Remote Mayoral Candidate Roundtable.  Tonight is the first in a series of mayoral candidate roundtable broadcasts produced by Salem Communications’ WNYM, New York “970 The Answer” and hosted by the station’s Curtis Sliwa (right) and Jeffrey Lichtman (left).  This evening’s program will emanate from the Statler Grill on 33rd and 7th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  Sliwa states, “This is the first mayoral election in over a decade that has a wide open primary contest on both sides of the aisle, along with a viable independent candidate.  Folks need to know what’s going on and it’s our duty as broadcasters and New Yorkers to bring it to them.  All the viable mayoral candidates are invited.”  WNYM vice president and general manager Jerry Crowley states, “It is this kind of live and local broadcasting that sets AM970 apart in the market.  Curtis Sliwa is the quintessential New York broadcaster on New York’s radio home for live and local broadcasting.”

Odds & Sods.  Hubbard Broadcasting’s WTOP, Washington teams up with Allbritton Communications’ WJLA-TV, Washington “ABC7” on a joint traffic reporting partnership.  Under the arrangement, WTOP will become the exclusive morning traffic home to ABC7.  ABC7 reporter Amanda Meadows will be reporting live for ABC7 from the WTOP “Glass-enclosed nerve center” during ABC7’s “Good Morning Washington.”  The reports will air six times an hour from 5:00 am to 7:00 am and two times an hour from 7:00 am to 9:00 am weekday mornings.  Meadows’ reports will be produced by veteran traffic reporter/producer Rob Woodfork…..KYW, Philadelphia account executive Adam Baldwin is promoted to local sales manager for the CBS Radio all-news outlet.  Vice president and director of sales Jim Loftus states, “Adam has excelled as an account executive at KYW, and in his pointing key clients across the CBS platform.  He brings a fresh perspective to our management team.  We look forward to his insight and talent in growing our family of advertisers, and further developing our sales team.”

KIDO, Boise’s Kevin Miller Gets Local Accolades.  Morning drive talk host Kevin Miller – heard daily on Peak Broadcasting’s KIDO, Boise – was named best radio host by local television station KTVB as part of its “7’s Best” awards.  Miller tells TALKERS magazine his program topped all of the other radio stations and their morning shows in the market.  Miller (right) is pictured here in a piece that aired during KTVB’s news.  KTVB’s Larry Gebert interviewed Miller and the two spoke at length about the community work Miller’s program has done including assisting local non-profits that aid the homeless as well as keeping the community aware of the plight of local Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl – the only American still held captive from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Boston Marathon Bombing Aftermath, Middle East Turmoil, Cold Spring Weather, and NBA Player Comes Out Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (4/29).  The ongoing investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing; military activity in Syria and Israel; the cold spring weather affecting much of the U.S.; and the coming out of NBA player Jason Collins were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS.