Tag: "Storytellers Gala"
Friday, December 10, 2021
NOW POSTED: This Weekend’s Installment of “The Michael Harrison Wrap: An Overview of the National Conversation.” The latest installment of the one-hour weekend special, “The Michael Harrison Wrap,” that looks back each week at the hottest topics discussed in American talk media per the research of TALKERS magazine, is now posted. This new episode titled, “Health, Wealth and Stealth,” looks back at this past week of 12/6 – 12/10. The program features guests (in order of appearance): Kevin Casey, executive editor, TALKERS; Mandy Connell, talk show host, KOA, Denver; Dr. Daliah Wachs, talk show host, Genesis Communications Network / physician; Paul Vandenburgh, talk show host / owner, Talk 1300, Albany, NY; Scott Hennen, talk show host / owner, WZFG, Fargo; and Steve Weisman, professor of law, Bentley University, Boston / founder, Scamicide.com. The show airs each week on its flagship, WONK-FM, Washington, DC, Friday evenings at 6:00 pm ET. It also airs throughout the weekend on WTIC, Hartford; KSCO, Santa Cruz, CA; KDFD, Denver; KFNX, Phoenix; KTLK-FM, St. Louis; WPG, Atlantic City, NJ; SuperTalk 99.7 WTN, Nashville; WVLY, Wheeling, WV; WTRW-FM, Scranton/Wilkes Barre, PA; WVOX, Westchester, NY; KBDT, Dallas; KQSP, Minneapolis; KBKW, Aberdeen, WA; WGDJ, Albany, NY; WJFN-FM, Richmond, VA; WZFG, Fargo; KTGO, Tioga, ND; KWAM, Memphis; K-NEWS, San Luis Obispo; WGMD, Rehoboth Beach, DE; WCHM, Clarkesville, GA; WPHM, Port Huron, MI; KSYL, Alexandria, LA; KTOE, Mankato, MN; WCED, DuBois, PA; K-NEWS 101.3, Owensboro, KY; WWTK, Sebring, FL; WSAR-AM/FM, Fall River, MA; WIZM-AM/FM, La Crosse, WI; WMVA, Martinsville, VA; KQEN, Roseburg, OR; the Virginia Talk Radio Network; CRN Digital Talk Radio Network; the iHeart Podcast Network; Pioneer Valley Radio, Springfield, MA; Podcast Radio, UK and many more. To listen to this week’s episode, please click here. To view the latest TALKERS magazine topic research, please click here. “The Michael Harrison Wrap” is now available in syndication via Talk Media Network to stations across America on a market exclusive basis. For affiliation information, please click here or call 616-884-8616.
WMAL-FM, Washington Raised $393,622 During Fisher House Radiothon. Washington, DC news/talk station WMAL-FM raised $393,622 to benefit the Fisher House Foundation during last week’s two-day WMAL Operation Fisher House Radiothon, topping last year’s amount by $25,000. Cumulus Media says WMAL’s listeners have donated nearly $8 million dollars over the last 19 years to support the efforts of the Fisher House Foundation, which provides housing to families of injured military members who are undergoing treatment. Group homes at Bethesda, Walter Reed, the VA, Dover AFB, and more than 60 locations across the country provide a comfortable place for loved ones to live while remaining close to their injured family members. Fisher House Foundation chairman and CEO Ken Fisher says, “WMAL’s partnership over the last 19 years has been incredible. Their generous audience has given nearly $8 million, having a tremendous impact on military and veteran families. We are forever grateful.” WMAL program director and Cumulus VP/news/talk Bill Hess says, “The stories are compelling and inspiring, and the response from our WMAL listeners demonstrates the strong relationship between our talent and listeners. It’s the perfect start to the holiday season.”
Podtrac Ranks PodcastOne Among Top Podcast Publishers. According to a ranking by Podtrac, LiveOne’s PodcastOne is named to the list of Top Podcast Publishers. PodcastOne notes that Podtrac “provides the podcast industry’s only ranking of top publishers based on unique audience counts.” PodcastOne enters the listings ranked #12 as one of only two independent podcasting publishers in the Top 15. PodcastOne says its ranking “comes on the heels of the successes and strengths of tentpole podcasts ‘Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe,’ ‘The Jordan Harbinger Show,’ ‘LADYGANG’ and ‘The Adam Carolla Show,’ as well as acquisitions of top performing programs such as ‘Baby Mamas No Drama,’ ‘True Crime All the Time Unsolved,’ and ‘This Is MONSTERS,’ which all saw significant audience growth since joining PodcastOne.” PodcastOne president Kit Gray says, “Being recognized by Podtrac with inclusion on the Top Publishers list is a testament to the hard work of the PodcastOne team both behind the mic and behind the scenes. We’re on track to post even bigger numbers in 2022 with a goal in mind to crack the Top 10 list.”
BBC’s Dylan Haskins Named to New York Festivals Radio Awards Advisory Board. The New York Festivals Radio Awards announces that BBC’s Dylan Haskins is appointed to the NYF Radio Awards Advisory Board. Haskins serves as commissioning executive for podcasts for BBC Sounds & BBC Radio 5 Live. He’s the 14th member of the prestigious New York Festivals Radio Awards Advisory Board, a brain trust of executives comprised of some of the radio industry’s most respected content creators and broadcast leaders from around the globe. These thought-leaders generously provide NYF’s Radio Awards with ongoing knowledge of emerging trends, critical industry insights, and a global perspective. Haskins says, “It’s a great honor to be asked to join the Advisory Board of the New York Festivals Radio Awards and to have the opportunity to help shape and advise the awards during such an exciting period of
evolution in audio creativity, innovation, investment and audience habits. As a commissioner for a public service broadcaster, it’s also a time of challenge and competition from new commercial players but, in my experience, this is leading us all to be more ambitious, to go bigger on what makes us distinctive and to experiment and collaborate more where there are shared aims. All of this means radio and podcasts have never been better and a competition like the New York Festivals helps recognize this.” 2022 will be the 12th year New York Festivals has partnered with the annual NAB Show. This strategic partnership provides all attendees to the April 26, 2022, Storyteller’s Gala access to the multi-day NAB event. NAB is the ultimate marketplace for people passionate about media, entertainment, and technology. All Entries in the 2022 competition will be judged online by NYF’s Radio Awards Grand Jury of 200-plus producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe. Award-winning entries will be showcased on the Radio Awards winners gallery. You can see the 2021 winner’s gallery here. Meanwhile, the deadline to enter the 2022 Radio Awards competition is February 9, 2022. See information about the competition and enter here.
TALKERS News Notes. Chicago media writer Robert Feder reports that former longtime WGN, Chicago personality Nick Digilio is launching two new podcasts. In mid-January, the twice-weekly show “The Nick D Podcast” will debut. It will be a roundup of entertainment and pop culture, including reviews of movies, music, TV and books. His first guest will be Rich “Svengoolie” Koz. Digilio will then launch, “That Show Hasn’t Been Funny In Years: An SNL Podcast,” obviously focusing on the history of “Saturday Night Live” over its 47-year run. Both podcasts are produced by the Radio Misfits Podcast Network…..Red Apple Media is rolling out a national syndication initiative for its
personalities heard on WABC, New York. The company has produced a series of video promos for the hosts and you can see them here……Westwood One is presenting play-by-play of one of college football’s oldest and most-storied rivalries, the Army–Navy game, presented by USAA and taking place tomorrow (12/11) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at 2:00 pm ET. The game is being called by John Sadak and Ross Tucker with Tina Cervasio handling sideline reporting duties and Jason Horowitz hosting the pregame, halftime, and postgame shows…..Audacy announces the launch of “Tapped Out,” a new MMA and boxing-focused show on BetQL Network. The show is co-hosted by Brendan Tobin, morning show host on WAXY, Miami “790 AM The Ticket” and Sean Levine, host on KCSP, Kansas City “610 Sports Radio.” The show airs Saturdays from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm ET…..SiriusXM and Pandora are teaming up with Audible to create “Chapter and Verse,” a new programming series that will blend conversations with some of the world’s top authors and the music and artists that inspire them. Listeners will hear directly from authors Nicholas Sparks, Wendy Walker, and Jonathan Maberry as they talk about their latest literary project and the unique, essential role that music plays in their work. Pandora VP of original digital content programming Bill Crandall says, “This new series brings our listeners more of what they love the most – great music and the personal, one-of-a-kind stories from some of the best storytellers around. We’re looking forward to hearing from some of the most popular writers and sharing their journeys and voices with our audiences.”
COVID-19 Variants, Vaccines, Mandates & Politics Top News/Talk Story for Week of December 6-10. The COVID-19 Omicron variant, vaccine mandates and the politics surrounding the pandemic combined as the most-talked-about story on news/talk radio this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM. At #2 this week was the supply chain backup, the labor shortage, inflation, and President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Bill, followed by the January 6 investigation and Donald Trump’s influence on GOP at #3. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed on news/talk radio during the week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See this week’s complete chart here.
Friday, January 24, 2020
NOW POSTED: New Installment of “The Michael Harrison Wrap: An Overview of the National Conversation.” The vibrant, one-hour weekend special, “The Michael Harrison Wrap,” that looks back each week at the hottest topics discussed in American talk media per the research of TALKERS magazine, is now posted on the website of its flagship station, WONK-FM, Washington, DC. The new episode titled, “New Boogie Virus in the Closet of Our Fears!” looks back at this past week of January 20-24, 2020 and features guests (in order of appearance): Kevin Casey, executive editor, TALKERS; Howie Carr, talk show host, Howie Carr Radio Network; Michael Riedel, talk show host, WOR, New York; Victoria Jones, executive director, DC Radio Company; Dana Cheng, senior reporter China news, The Epoch Times; and Ryan Wrecker, talk show host, KMOX, St Louis. This acclaimed news/talk radio show airs each week on WONK-FM, Washington, DC on Friday evenings between 6:00-7:00 pm. It also airs throughout the weekend on WRKO, Boston; KSCO, Santa Cruz, CA; KFNX, Phoenix; WVOX, Westchester, NY; KBDT, Dallas; KQSP, Minneapolis; KBKW, Aberdeen, WA; the Virginia Talk Radio Network and Pioneer Valley Radio in Springfield, MA as well as appearing on the iHeartRadio App. To listen to this week’s episode (and the program’s complete archives), please click here. To view the latest TALKERS magazine topic research, please click here.
Lynda Lopez Returns to WCBS-AM, New York. After leaving Entercom’s all-news WCBS-AM, New York in 2016, news pro Lynda Lopez is back with the station handling the midday news anchor position as well as serving as a special projects reporter. The Emmy Award-winning journalist was most recently a television and radio news anchor for ABC News and previously was an anchor and reporter for WCBS-TV, WNYW-TV and WWOR-TV in New York. She has also served as a contributor for Latina Magazine, Glamour, and Glam Belleza Latina. She was a news anchor and special correspondent for
WCBS-AM from 2009 through 2016. Lopez succeeds recently retired WCBS news anchor Pat Farnack. Entercom New York regional president and market manager Susan Larkin says, “I’m happy to welcome Lynda back to our exceptional on-air WCBS 880 team. I am confident her breadth of experience and her skillset engaging audiences, as well as her established presence in this market, will enable her to thrive in this role and successfully keep New Yorkers informed daily.”
Round Two of Holiday PPMs Released. The second of four rounds of ratings data from Nielsen Audio’s Holiday PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including: Washington, Boston, Miami, Seattle, Detroit, Phoenix, Minneapolis, San Diego, Tampa, Denver, Baltimore, and St. Louis. The survey period was December 5 through January 1. As noted yesterday, the calendar month of December can be challenging for spoken-word stations as Christmas music becomes a popular choice for radio listeners and holiday activities break up typical
listening patterns. That said, Beasley Media Group’s WBZ-FM, Boston “98.5 The Sports Hub” tacked four-tenths on to its December survey weekly 6+ AQH share for a 5.5 share and the #5 rank in the market. iHeartMedia’s all-news WBZ-AM gains 1.2 shares to finish the survey at a 6.0 share and the #3 rank in the Boston market. And in San Diego, iHeartMedia’s news/talk KOGO adds three-tenths to finish the Holiday survey at a 4.7 share. See all the 6+ numbers from subscribing stations here. Meanwhile, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways here.
New York Festivals Radio Awards Debuts Storytellers Gala at NAB Show. On April 21 at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, New York Festivals Radio Awards kicks off its inaugural Storytellers Gala in celebration of the 10th year of NYF’s strategic partnership with the annual NAB Show. New York Festivals says that with the digital audio arena encompassing music-streaming, podcasts, online, and satellite radio, radio has come a very long way since the first radio broadcast of election coverage by KDKA on November 2, 1920. In honor of this momentous invention, New York Festivals Radio Awards will celebrate 100 years of radio while bringing together global storytellers from both the radio and TV & film industry on the same stage. Radio storytelling begins with a distinctive voice and ends with a captivating narrative that engages listeners on a broad range of topics. New York Festivals Radio Awards’ robust roster of categories celebrates the innovative storytelling from content creators from 40 countries around the world. From Live Shows to Entertainment Specials, Sports to Talk Radio, Music Shows to News, Serialized Storytelling to Podcasts and Audiobooks, powerful storytelling today succeeds in engaging listeners and illustrating that the voice of the storyteller is loud, clear and very much alive in radio. TALKERS magazine publisher and NYF Radio Awards Advisory Board member Michael Harrison says, “The NYF is right in sync with the most important movement taking place in media today – a revival of enthusiasm for the art of storytelling. Storytelling has been the foundation of oral communications from the dawn of language to the present-day explosion in technology. The idea of outstanding storytellers from around the planet gathering in Las Vegas to celebrate this most evolved element of human connectivity is deeply gratifying to those of us who love the spoken word and remain in awe of its power.” The deadline to enter the 2020 Radio Awards competition is February 1, 2020. To enter please visit: here. For additional information visit: Rules and Regulations.
TALKERS News Notes. Virginia-based conservative talk media personality John Fredericks is the focal point in a Washington Post piece about the Trump administration and news/talk radio. In the story by Sarah Ellison titled, “Trumpworld Has Converted the Nation’s Regional Talk Radio Hosts Into a Loyal Army,” she writes, “Pouring attention on regional talk radio hosts is a classic Trumpworld move: giving relatively unknown characters proximity to the White House has paid off with a disproportionate amount of attention and praise lavished on the president and his agenda.” Read the piece here at Fredericks’ TrumpNationNews.com…..The National Sports Media Association has named WTOP-FM, Washington senior sports director and long-time Wizards radio play-by-by broadcaster Dave Johnson “D.C. Sportscaster of the Year.” WTOP director of news and programming Julia Ziegler says, “Dave is one of the hardest working guys I have ever met. We are so thrilled and excited to see Dave honored for the amazing work he has done throughout his career. Dave is an incredible journalist and amazing person to work alongside each day.” This season marks Johnson’s 23rd as the voice of the team on the Washington Wizards Radio Network…..The Consumer Technology Association – owner and producer of the annual CES – came under fire from some quarters for bringing Ivanka Trump in to serve as a keynote speaker for the CES 2020 earlier this month. CTA president and CEO Gary Shapiro defends the organization’s move – and has some choice words for its “totally uninformed” critics – on the Westwood One Podcast Network’s “Think About This with Shelly Palmer and Ross Martin.”
Impeachment Top News/Talk Story for Week of January 20-24. The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump was the most-talked-about story on news/talk radio this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM. At #2 this week was the Democrats vying to challenge President Trump in November. Coming in at #3 was the Wuhan coronavirus and U.S.-China relations, followed by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and the subject of climate change at #4. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed on news/talk radio during the week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See this week’s entire chart here.
Music Radio News and Career Moves. Two morning shows have been dismissed at Entercom’s San Diego station group. AJ Machado and Sara Perry are gone from classic hits KXSN “Sunny 98.1” after a little less than two years there. They had previously served with adult contemporary KYXY “96 Soft Rock” in the market. Also exiting the cluster are Dana DiDonato and Jayson Prim from alternative KBZT “Alt 94.9.” They came to San Diego from Cox Media Group’s CHR WBLI, Long Island, replacing the “Cantore & Woods” show. There has been no announcement from the company on its plans for the morning dayparts on the two stations…..In Denver, Entercom names Chuck Sullivan the SVP and market manager for the cluster that includes four music brands – classic rock KQMT “99.5 The Mountain,” CHR KALC “Alice 105.9,” nostalgia KEZW-AM “Timeless Music,” and hip hop KQKS “KS 107.5” — as well as comedy KQKS-HD2…..SuiteRadio’s 24/7 hot AC format “The Planet” – syndicated by Envision Networks – adds new affiliate station WKSO-FM, Natchez, Louisiana to is roster of stations. The Planet’s on-air lineup features personalities Maria Todd, Atom Smasher, and Mark Carrillo. Core artists include: Adele, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna, and Coldplay.