Tag: "Dave Milner"

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Day 1 from the Arbitron Client Conference.  Radio consultant Holland Cooke is covering the Arbitron Client Conference for TALKERS.  Three major points stuck out at yesterday’s sessions: 1) RAB president Erica Farber noting that agencies don’t have “radio” departments anymore, they have “audio” departments; 2) using social media is imperative but it must have a three-pronged purpose of creating brand awareness, expanding listenership and maintaining listener loyalty; and 3) stations in PPM markets must work hard to create more occasions of listening from P1s in order to build share growth.  Read Holland Cooke’s report from Annapolis here.

Clear Channel’s Ken Charles Moves from Miami to Sacramento.  The longtime Clear Channel spoken-word programmer – who also serves as the national brand coordinator for news/talk and sports – takes on the vice president of programming role at the company’s six-station cluster in Sacramento that includes news/talk KFBK and KSTE.  Charles has programmed Clear Channel Media and Entertainment news/talk stations in Atlanta and Houston in addition to his most recent post in Miami.  Sacramento market manager Dave Milner states, “We are extremely excited to have Ken leading the programming and brand strategies for Clear Channel Sacramento.  His experience and passion, combined with our excellent team of professionals will certainly make for a winning combination.”  Charles replaces Alan Eisenson who exited the Sacramento cluster last week.

Jim Bohannon Signs Contract Extension with Dial Global.  Washington, DC-based overnight and early morning talk radio personality Jim Bohannon signs a new contract to extend his national syndication deal with Dial Global.  Via his eponymous overnight talk show and the early-morning “America in the Morning” program, Jim Bohannon is heard on more than 500 affiliates across America.  Commenting on his new, multi-year extension, Bohannon says, “I’m delighted to re-up with Dial Global at a time of exciting new opportunities for our industry.  As the economy and marketplace forge ahead, I’m eager to work with the many fine sponsors and affiliates of the Jim Bohannon show and ‘America in the Morning.’”  Dial Global EVP of news and talk programming Bart Tessler states, “We are thrilled that the hardest-working man in radio is continuing his relationship with his loyal audience and sponsors from sunrise to, well, sunrise. Jim’s ‘militant moderate’ attitude is needed on radio now more than ever.”

Talk Pro Tom Becka Expands Program at KOIL, Omaha.  Last week Tom Becka announced he would be leaving his position at KRWK, Fargo “101.9 Talk FM” where he serves as program director and morning drive host.  Now, Becka and NRG Media’s KOIL, Omaha make public his expanded program at the station.  Since moving to Fargo to work on KRWK, Becka had maintained an Omaha presence with an afternoon program on KOIL (piped in from Fargo).  Now, Becka returns to the city where he has family and friends and begins an expanded 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm afternoon show on January 2.  Operations manager Jeff Lynn says Becka’s program on KOIL has grown significantly on the station – the adults 35-64 demo is up 26% during the 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm slot in which his show is currently airing.  Lynn states, “We have no doubt Becka will continue to deliver tremendous results due to his massive appeal with our listeners. He attracts a responsive audience that is loyal to the core and I am confident they will appreciate his expanded timeslot.”  On his return to Omaha, Becka says, “1290 has been an ideal home for me – I know Omaha, Eastern Nebraska, and the topics people care about in the local market. This station has provided me with an arena to not only engage our listeners in new ways, it has provided an outlet for talk and conversation that is more in-depth and comprehensive so listeners get what they want from the show.”

Opinion: Bob Costas Criticism Goes Overboard.  One of the hot topics of the week – on both sports talk and news/talk radio – is Bob Costas’ comments on the Jovan Belcher tragedy that aired on NBC on Sunday evening.  WFAN, New York host Richard Neer writes that much of the criticism – especially that which demands Costas be fired – is absurd.  “Are we at such a point in our public discourse that anyone who takes a stand with which we disagree should lose his job?  Can we not have a sane discussion about guns without evoking black helicopters and UN takeovers?”  Read Richard Neer’s entire piece here.

CBS Announces Plans for Super Bowl Park.  The image you see here is the entrance to CBS Super Bowl Park at Jackson Square in New Orleans as the company prepares to cover this year’s Super Bowl.  The broadcast giant’s eight subsidiaries — CBS Sports, CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CBS Sports Network, SHOWTIME Sports, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports Radio and CBS Television Distribution – will feature programming from the site of the NFL championship during the week leading up to the big game.  CBS Corporation president and CEO Les Moonves says this sets a new standard for the company, “The Super Bowl is the granddaddy of big event television, and our approach this year is unlike anything we have ever done.  For the first time, CBS Corporation will have week-long, round-the-clock Super Bowl coverage on more than a half-dozen platforms.  Creating CBS Super Bowl Park at Jackson Square as the center of all this activity will make it even more compelling, and also illustrate the collaborative efforts across the company.”  The broadcast center will consist of four outdoor sets inside Jackson Square shared across the various shows.  The sets were designed to reflect the history and architecture of New Orleans.  A fifth set will be located across the street in Washington’s Artillery Park for the CBS affiliates.

Clear Channel Tallahassee Names Jeff Wolf PD for WFLA-FM and WNLS.  Taking over for Matt Millar, who exited the radio business, Jeff Wolf comes to Clear Channel’s Tallahassee cluster from Border Media Partners’ Austin, Texas stations where he served as OM for the cluster.  Wolf will program news/talk WFLA-FM “Tallahassee’s Talk Radio” and sports talk WNLS “1270 The Team.”  Operations manager Jeff Horn says, “We are very excited that Jeff chose to come lead our talk brands in Tallahassee.”

Sabo Media’s Internet Radio Initiatives Signs Aircheck.US.  Sabo Media president Walter Sabo announces his company’s Internet Radio Initiatives division is working with Aircheck.US to help build the company’s business model and help identify new revenue and content opportunities.  Sabo notes that Aircheck.US – using skilled, entertaining radio performers – will be a viable opportunity for advertisers seeking a blended marketing opportunity of proven media talent and new digital platforms.  Every radio star has considered what they would do if they had complete on-air freedom. Historically experienced on-air celebrities produced the most cutting edge radio, such as free form in the 1960’s. Underground radio was launched by Top-40 stars such as Murray the K, B. Mitchel Reed, Tom Donahue and Scott Muni.  Sabo says he believes Aircheck.US CEO and founder Erica Lee “has given these proven performers a stage, respect and the freedom to use their expertise to build an audience around the world, online.  I look forward to helping her refine her business and achieve her goals.”

Greater Media’s WTKK, Boston to Broadcast Radiothon to Benefit Fisher House.  With the support of his fellow WTKK talk show hosts, Michael Graham is leading the “5th Annual News Talk 96.9 Fisher House Radiothon” today from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.  WTKK personalities Jim Braude, Margery Eagan, Doug Meehan, Michael Smerconish, and The Andelman Brothers from Phantom Gourmet will join Graham in the effort.  He says, “The war in Afghanistan may not be in the headlines, but our brave women and men are still there, serving at the front lines.  From Afghanistan to Yemen, we send our troops into harm’s way every day.  When harm does come, the Fisher House lets us take care of them.”  WTKK says Graham will broadcast from 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm with wall-to-wall guests, including: Fisher House families, Senator Scott Brown, Bill O’Reilly, Dennis Miller, Glenn Beck, Ray Romano, Rob Schneider, Ted Nugent, former New England Patriots player Matt Light, Gold-winning gymnast Aly Raisman, Fox 25’s VB, Playmate of the Year Jaclyn Swedberg, Comedian Chris Zito and many more.

The Conclave Announces 2013 Scholarship Opportunities.  The Conclave’s 2013 Radio and Music Industry Scholarship Program provides more than $50,000 worth of opportunities for students.  The organization states that since 1979, in keeping with its mission of educating the broadcast industry, it has awarded over $1 million in scholarships to worthy students desiring an education in the radio and music industries.  The detailed scholarships are: to Brown College in Minneapolis, Specs Howard School of Media Arts in Southfield, Michigan, and to McNally-Smith College of Music in St. Paul.  The Brown College Dennis Becker Memorial Scholarship covers tuition for the Radio Broadcasting Associate of Applied Science Degree, and is worth $17,000. The Specs Howard Bill Gavin Memorial Scholarship includes tuition, application fees, and books for the Diploma Program in Radio-TV Broadcasting, and is worth $15,000.  The McNally-Smith Music Business Scholarship is valued at up to $20,000.  Conclave executive director Bob Shannon says, “In our current economy scholarship dollars are truly a gift with impact.  I’m thankful to the schools and organizations that have graciously stepped forward to help.  In a larger sense, the scholarships embody the very essence of the Conclave’s mission: to create a learning environment that actually makes a difference for those interested in 21st Century media.”  All Conclave scholarships will be awarded during the 38th Conclave Summer Learning Conference, July 17-19, 2013 in Minneapolis.

Cool Job Opportunity.  The major qualification for this position is the ideal candidate must be fluent in Mandarin.  This is a consulting opportunity for someone with experience in talk radio who speaks the Chinese dialect.  Send your relevant information to Michael Harrison at TALKERS magazine – michael@talkers.com – and we’ll pass it along.  All responses will be kept confidential.

Washington’s ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Battle, Syria’s Chemical Weapons Threat, Egyptian Unrest, and Bob Costas Gun Comment Controversy Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (12/5).  The ongoing debate in Washington over how to avoid the “fiscal cliff”; Syria’s readying of sarin gas and threats to use it on rebel forces; the violent protests against Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi; and backlash against NBC’s Bob Costas in response to his guns comments were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS.