Tag: "dies"

Friday, February 1, 2013

Longtime KSFO and KGO, San Francisco Personality Lee Rodgers Dies.  San Francisco talk radio host Lee Rodgers – who spent the last part of his career on the radio in the market co-hosting morning drive with Melanie Morgan on KSFO – died on Thursday while being operated on for a heart condition.  Rodgers had been dealing with heart ailments for some time and Thursday’s surgery was, according to a blog post by his widow Susan, risky but something Rodgers was willing to undergo.  Rodgers and Morgan were ousted from their KSFO morning show position in February of 2010.

Former Talk Host Ed Koch Dies at 88.  Ed Koch was known to most as a former U.S. Representative and the former mayor of New York City but he was also a progressive talk radio host after his days in New York City Hall.  He worked at WABC, New York in the middays in the mid-1990s.  He was respected by conservatives and liberals alike and often referred to as the “sane liberal” by conservatives.  In recent years, Koch also hosted a Friday evening program on Bloomberg Radio’s WBBR, New York.

Cumulus Names Ron Escarsega OM for KGO and KSFO, San Francisco.  Moving up from Cumulus Media’s Los Angeles cluster where he served as assistant program director for news/talk KABC, Ron Escarsega takes the position of operations manager for news KGO and news/talk KSFO.  Cumulus news/talk/sports corporate programmer Jim Mahanay states, “Ron has done a great job for us in Los Angeles. We’re excited at the skills he brings north to the Bay Area.”  Escarsega says, “I’m excited for the new challenge to work with two iconic stations KGO and KSFO.  I appreciate the confidence Cumulus has shown in me and look forward to the new challenge.”  KGO and KSFO program director Paul Hosley exits the company.

Date Set for TALKERS New York City Conference.  Save the date!  The 16th annual TALKERS Conference is set for New York City on Thursday, June 6, 2013.  Formerly called “The New Media Seminar” the event – now simply titled TALKERS New York 2013 – will again take place at the comfortable and modern Concierge Conference Center on Manhattan’s East Side.  It will be a power-packed full day of special addresses, panels, presentations, and social networking opportunities tackling the key issues facing talk radio and its relationship with the new talk media (internet, satellite, cable TV) as well as the general radio industry including music radio and the changing role of the disc jockey.  According to TALKERS VP/executive editor Kevin Casey, “This will be a TALKERS conference for the new era.  Our presentation this year will be so fresh and vital to the survival and ‘thrival’ of the business that we actually are moving beyond the title ‘New Media Seminar.’  It is not to be missed.”  Stand by for full registration, sponsorship and unfolding agenda details posted here before the end of the week.  Registrations will not go on sale until next Monday, February 4 after which, due to limited space and seating, it is expected to be a rapid sellout.  Registration will be limited to members of the working media only.

Geraldo Rivera Contemplating U.S. Senate Run in 2014.  Cumulus Media’s WABC, New York-based midday talk personality Geraldo Rivera said on his radio program on Thursday that he’s considering a run for the U.S. Senate in 2014.  He told listeners, “I mention this only briefly – fasten – I am and have been in touch with some people in the Republican Party in New Jersey.  I am truly contemplating running for Senate against Frank Lautenberg or Cory Booker in New Jersey.”  The Christian Science Monitor examines Rivera’s chances here.  Though New Jersey is a fairly blue state, whether this is Rivera musing out loud or he’s serious about this will become clearer over time.  He wouldn’t be the first to turn a talk radio gig into a U.S. Senate seat.  Al Franken did it in Minnesota.

Salem Radio Network Teams with USCCA for Second Amendment Protection Petition.  The petition – which obtained its 60,000^th signature during Salem Radio Network’s Mike Gallagher show on Thursday (1/31) – is a combined effort of the United States Concealed Carry Association and Salem Radio Networks.  The petition is intended to be delivered to Congress to request that the Second Amendment be honored as Washington works on gun legislation in the wake of the Newtown massacre.

Cox Media’s WDBO, Orlando Produces Student-Led Gun Legislation Debate.  The event took place yesterday evening on the University of Central Florida campus where pre-law students in the Moot Court program debated the issue before a live audience and live on WDBO.  The debate was moderated by midday personality Mel Robbins. Station program director Drew Anderssen stated, “Student safety is at the core of the gun control debate in Washington.  The politicians have spoken.  Our talk hosts have spoken.  But, we haven’t heard a long-form discussion on the issue from students.  Thanks to the UCF Moot Court Team, we’re able to present our auditorium and radio audiences with a truly bi-partisan discussion on an issue that will shape our nation’s future from people who represent our nation’s future.”

Talk Host Tom Donahue Returns to Terrestrial Radio on KCAA, San Bernardino.  Talk radio pro Tom Donahue – who’s been producing his own talk show in various digital formats recently – is taking to the airwaves of Southern California on Broadcasting Management Services’ KCAA, Loma Linda (San Bernardino market) for a weekly Friday program airing at 6:00 pm.  Donahue’s program remains part of the internet Talk Superstation lineup.  He says he plans to grow his station affiliate base and eventually expand beyond his new weekly endeavor.

Odds & Sods.  KDWN, Las Vegas morning drive host Alan Stock sits in for Rusty Humphries on his Talk Radio Network nationally syndicated show this afternoon (2/1)…..WTOP, Washington, DC reporter Neil Augenstein came to the rescue of a Virginia man whose car had been pulled down the road and into a ditch by flood waters early Thursday morning.  Augenstein came upon the van while driving in the early morning hours.  He was able to confirm that man was okay and phoned authorities to send a rescue crew…..Premiere Networks “Coast to Coast AM” star George Noory is profiled in St. Louis Magazine.  Noory splits his time between St. Louis and Los Angeles and in the piece speaks about his journey from news broadcasting to radio and how it influences the show today plus more…..SirusXM launches a new Martha Stewart program called, “Martha Live.”  This program debuts February 19 and will be a daily, two-hour live program airing from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm ET and will feature segments including “Ask Martha,” with live call-ins; “Mostly Martha,” with high-profile guest interviews and discussions; segments hosted by Martha’s favorite experts; as well as curated segments from Martha’s vast archives of radio and television.

TALKERS Weekly Affiliate Roundup.  “Free Talk Live” featuring Ian Freeman and Mark Edge adds WGSO, New Orleans; WLNI, Lynchburg, Virginia; and WGAW, Gardner, Massachusetts to its roster of affiliates…..WREC, Memphis adds the Dave Ramsey program to its lineup…..“Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford” picks up its 75^th affiliate station with the addition of WTYS, Marianna, Florida.  Lipford also produces a companion syndicated television program of the same name…..Chris Markowski’s “Money Minutes” feature is added to the Salem Tampa stations.

Immigration Reform Tops Talkers Ten^TM for Week of January 28.  The Obama Administration’s proposal for immigration reform was the most-talked-about story on news/talk radio during the week of January 28 – February 1.  Coming in at #2 was the report of the shrinking GDP in the U.S. tied with the Obama Administration’s shutting down of the bi-partisan jobs council.  At #3 was the Chuck Hagel confirmation hearing followed by Gabrielle Giffords’ gun legislation testimony at #4.  The Talkers Ten^TM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed on news/talk radio and is the result of ongoing research form TALKERS.  It is published every Friday at Talkers.com.  See this week’s chart here.