Industry News

“SportsRadio 610” in Houston Releases Contributor John McClain

According to a report in the Houston Chronicle, longtime pro football writer and broadcaster John McClain – who retired from the Chronicle in 2022 – is being let go from his role with Audacy’s sportsim talk KILT-AM “SportsRadio 610.” McClain’s role with the station included appearing on the station’s programs, writing stories for its website and co-hosting a podcast with station personality Sean Pendergast. The 72-year-old McClain tells the Chronicle that he’s not ready to leave the Houston radio market, adding, “I’ll see if people are interested. I’m a free agent now.” Read the Chronicle story here.

Industry News

Tim Hall Named APD at “97.1 The Fan” in Columbus

Tegna announces that Tim Hall is named assistant program director at sports talk WBNS-AM and FM, Columbus “97.1 The Fan” and “1460 ESPN.” Hall is currently the host of “The Buckeye Show” (6:00 pm to 8:00 pm) and Ohio State football and men’s basketball post-game shows from Learfield. Programim director and operations manager Matt Fishman says, “Tim’s extensive background in the sports talk format is invaluable as we continue to grow ‘97.1 The Fan’ and ‘1460 ESPN’ here in Columbus. I look forward to watching Tim grow in this new role and seeing his impact on the team and the overall product.” Station manager Cody Welling adds, “For the last several months, Tim has expressed the interest and ability to grow as a broadcaster and as a programmer. As ‘97.1 The Fan’ continues to innovate as one of the elite sports radio properties in the United States, I’m excited to see the contributions that Tim will deliver for our station and the community.”

Industry News

Afflicted Broadcaster Raising Awareness of Need for Organ Donors

Western Massachusetts broadcaster and public relations pro Mark Auerbach (pictured) has revealed his dramatic battle with stage 5 kidney disease in an effort to raise awareness of the need for organ donors andTalkers Magazine - WRFH-LP hopefully find a donor for his own situation. Auerbach hosts “ArtsBeat,” “On The Mark,” and “Athenaeum Spotlight,” on WCPC-TV 15 and WSKB, Westfield, MA. He’s also the ArtsBeat reporter for Pioneer Valley Radio. Auerbach says people can help by taking any of three steps: 1) becoming an organ donor upon your death; 2) consider donating while you’re alive (get details at kidney.org); and 3) donating to him at Mass General Hospital’s living donors program (https://mghlivingdonors.org/). If you choose the third option, please indicate that you are specifically interested in donating an organ to Mark Auerbach.