Tag: "Tucker Carlson"
Friday, March 15, 2019
Bubba the Love Sponge Lashes Out at ‘Speech Police’ in WSJ Op-Ed Piece. There’s been a lot of chatter on news/talk radio this week about Media Matters’ attack on Tucker Carlson for stuff he said on the Bubba the Love Sponge show during the period of 2006-2011 when he was a regular guest. Carlson took an unusual tack and not only didn’t apologize but used the Media Matters attack on him to call out the “speech
police.” Now, Bubba the Love Sponge also rips Media Matters and others in an op-ed piece published in the Wall Street Journal that compares Carlson’s battle with that of comic Lenny Bruce some 50 years ago. The crux of Bubba’s piece is that entertainers in the U.S. have the right to be edgy and to push boundaries even if that includes being rude or profane. He says that in our culture we accept that kind of language within the context of comedy where we wouldn’t accept it in other facets of life – or at least we used to. Read Bubba’s piece here.
Mitchinson Exits KFBK, Sacramento Mornings. Sacramento news/talk KFBK parts ways with morning drive co-anchor Dan Mitchinson after almost four years. Mitchinson worked alongside co-anchor Cristina Mendosa on the “KFBK Morning News” program. The iHeartMedia station will announce a new co-anchor soon. Mitchinson posted news of his exit on Facebook. He wrote, in part, “‘Everything’s got to end sometime. Otherwise nothing would ever get started.’ And with that (semi) favorite quote of mine, my time here at KFBK has come to an end. I can’t say it was easy getting up most mornings around 1, but once I was in the car, heading to work, I looked forward to connecting with all of you on air and through social media and sharing stories.”
McCredden Named OM at Townsquare Media Quad Cities. Programming pro Ryan McCredden joins Townsquare Media as operations manager for the company’s five-station cluster in the Quad Cities that includes sports talk KJOC-FM “ESPN 93.5” and four music-formatted stations. McCredden was most recently programming Houston sports talk outlets KILT-AM “Sports Radio 610” and KIKK “CBS Sports Radio 650.” He’s also programmed news/talk KQTH-FM, Tucson. He says, “I’m thrilled to be able to work with the entire team at Townsquare Quad Cities and their great local brands. We will have a lot of fun and I look forward to growing upon the success they’ve already achieved.”
Jacksonville Sports Talker Gets FM Translator. “930 The Game” gets an FM translator added to its signal. iHeartMedia announces that sports talk WFXJ-AM, Jacksonville is now also heard on W247CF (licensed to Orange Park, Florida) at 97.3 FM. The 99-watt signal covers the southeast portion of the Jacksonville metro. iHeartMedia SVP of programming Geewiz says, “Jacksonville was in need of a strong FM sports station. We are very fortunate to have the legendary morning show with Mike Bianchi and ‘Harp on Sports with Seth Harp’ leading the sports world in Jacksonville. The strong FM signal will allow ‘930 The Game’ to have an even wider reach.”
Manafort Sentencing and Trump-Russia Investigation Top News/Talk Stories for Week of March 11-15. The second sentencing of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the related Trump-Russia investigation tied for the most-talked-about story on news/talk radio this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM. At #2 this week was the college entrance cheating scandal. Coming in at #3 was the looming national emergency vote in the senate and the related border wall project, followed by the 2020 Democratic hopefuls and Beto O’Rourke’s entrance 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.
TALKERS News Notes. It’s been just over a year since ESPN returned Stephen A. Smith to a full-time, national radio show with ESPN Radio. Now, the sports media giant is happy to report the 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Stephen A. Smith Show (simulcast on cable’s ESPNEWS) is enjoying a positive uptick in Nielsen’s PPM ratings. ESPN says since August 2018 the show was up 23% in AQH share (men 25-54)…..The NFL’s Carolina Panthers are moving forward without longtime analyst Eugene Robinson in the radio booth alongside Mick Mixon and Jim Szoke. Robinson – who was part of the Panthers Radio Network for 17 years – also co-hosts “Charlotte Today” on WCNC-TV, Charlotte. Entercom’s WBT-AM/FM serves as the flagship station for Panthers radio play-by-play…..Westwood One is the official network radio partner of the NCAA and will present exclusive live coverage of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, starting with First Four action on Tuesday, March 19. WWO is producing radio play-by-play for all 67 games – including eight first-round and second-round games, plus regional semifinals and finals. Westwood One is broadcasting live coverage of NCAA Men’s Final Four on Saturday, April 6 and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 8, in both English and Spanish…..Cumulus Media’s sports talk KBGG-AM, Des Moines “1700 The Champ” is the newest affiliate station of the Minnesota Twins’ Treasure Island Radio Network via Learfield.
Music Radio News and Career Moves. San Francisco morning personality Vinnie Hasson re-ups with Entercom’s hot AC KLLC “Alice @ 97.3” to continue co-hosting the station “Sarah and Vinnie” program with Sarah Clark. Hasson says, “A thousand thanks to [Entercom SVP of programming] Michael Martin
and [market manager] Greg Nemitz for their support and leadership, and to my wonderful partner Sarah – you are the best and I look forward to chopping it up with you every day. I’m stoked to keep rolling with our great team and continue waking up the Bay Area every day.”…..On-air personality and programmer Cameron Moore is adding another set of music director duties to her responsibilities with Beasley Media Group’s Charlotte cluster. Moore is now MD for WSOC “Country 1037” in addition to her role as midday personality and music
director for sister CHR WNKS “KISS 95.1.” WSOC program director Jack Daniel comments, “Cameron is experienced in the country music format. She has a great work ethic and I’m very excited to have her on the ‘Country 1037’ team and cannot wait to utilize all of her creative input and perspective.”…..Beasley Media Group
announces that the “Déjà vu Show” takes over the midday daypart on rhythmic oldies WUKS, Fayetteville, North Carolina “Old School 1077,” effective March 25. As a result, Teddy Bear moves to the evening show (6:00 pm to 10:00 pm). WUKS brand manager Kenny J says, “We are extremely excited to have the ‘Déjà vu Show’ here in Fayetteville. Deja will bring lots of experience, high energy girlfriend talk and lots of fun! She will take middays to a whole new
level.”…..Premiere Networks-syndicated personality Elvis Duran is publishing his new memoir, Where Do I Begin? Stories (I Sort of Remember) From a Life Lived Out Loud, (October 2019, Atria) In promoting the book, Duran chatted with People magazine about his rise to fame, how he took control of his health, losing more than 100 pounds with the help of celebrity medico Dr. Oz, coming out as gay man on the radio, and how he manages to get major pop stars to talk so candidly about their personal lives.
Thursday, December 14, 2018
FCC to Commence 2018 Quadrennial Review of Ownership Rules. At its open meeting yesterday (12/12), the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to launch the 2018 Quadrennial Review of the Commission’s media ownership rules. The rules subject to this quadrennial review obligation are the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission seeks comment on whether these three rules continue to serve the public interest or whether they should be modified or eliminated in light of changes to the media marketplace. Republican Chairman Ajit Pai and GOP commissioners Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr approved. Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel approved in part and objected in part. She wrote in her statement, in part, “Newspapers have collapsed, and
stations are increasingly owned by national companies with limited ties to the communities they serve. What is emerging are news deserts – areas of the country where national news dominates but local news is disappearing. Competition matters. It is axiomatic that more owners in more markets can mean more ideas. It can mean more news. The converse is also true. Too much consolidation can reduce the number of voices, jobs, and the newsgathering that results…We seek comment on a proposal allowing a single company to own an unlimited number of FM and AM radio stations in most communities in this country. That could mean one company controls every radio station in the town where you live…To the extent this rulemaking offers thoughtful reform, I approve. But in other aspects, I dissent. It fails to honestly assess the impact of too many changes we propose on the values of localism, competition, and diversity that have informed this agency’s media policies in the past—and I believe should still inform our efforts in the future.”
FOX News Channel and Hannity Finish 2018 on Top of Cable Ratings. A story in The Hill citing Nielsen data reveals that FOX News Channel finished 2018 in first place in the cable TV battle, posting its best prime-time audience ever: 2.5 million average viewers. Liberal cable newser MSNBC also enjoyed its best year, wrapping the year in second place behind FNC with 1.8 million average viewers in prime time. As far as individual personalities go, FNC’s Sean Hannity had the highest-rated show. His
average viewership was 3.275 million. Over at MSNBC, Rachel Maddow’s program was second behind “Hannity” with 2.881 million average viewers. While both FOX News Channel and MSNBC enjoyed prime-time ratings increases this year over 2017 (up 3% and 12%, respectively), CNN was down 6% from last year with 990,000 average viewers in prime time. Following Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow in the list of the top five cable news/talk shows were three more FNC programs: “Tucker Carlson Tonight” with 2.827 million average viewers, “The Ingraham Angle” with Laura Ingraham – 2.61 million, and “The Five” with 2.38 million.
Scripps Media Officially Out of Radio Biz; Lotus Communications, Bustos Media, and Family Life Broadcasting Close. Yesterday (12/12), the closings took place for the sale of stations related to Scripps Media’s exit from the radio station business. After divesting of the first 26 of its radio station properties earlier in the year, Scripps sold its remaining eight radio properties in the Tucson and Boise markets to Lotus
Communications for $8 million. In order to comply with FCC ownership caps, Lotus spun off news/talk KQTH-FM, Tucson to Family Life Broadcasting and rhythmic oldies KTGV-FM, Tucson “106.3 The Groove” to Bustos Media. Scripps Media was created in the 2015 merger of Milwaukee-based Journal Communications and Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps in which the print properties kept the Journal name and the radio stations joined Scripps’ television assets under the Scripps Media banner.
Cumulus to Air Ben Shapiro in PM Drive on WABC, New York. New York news/talk WABC will air the new Westwood One-syndicated Ben Shapiro two-hour radio show in addition to the one-hour podcast from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, beginning January 7. The Cumulus Media station already airs the podcast right after the “Savage Nation” with Michael Savage. In the New Year, Savage is transitioning to hosting a one-hour, daily live show and a one-hour podcast instead of his current three-hour live show. WABC program director Craig Schwalb comments, “Ben is a fascinating host that completely cuts through the sameness that is political talk radio right now. It’s the perfect time for us to expand his programming on 77 WABC.”
Paul J Schneider Wraps KBOI, Boise Morning Show Career Tomorrow. As announced earlier this year, longtime KBOI, Boise morning personality Paul J Schneider will leave his morning show duties after his regular broadcast tomorrow (12/14). Schneider will continue to work with KBOI producing weekly features and a blog as well as continuing to cover Boise State Football for Learfield Sports. Schneider says, “I have been privileged to work with great morning show partners and to be on AM radio in its heyday. I was able to call the Boise State games through their growth trajectory and when not all the games were broadcasted live on TV.”
WFNZ, Charlotte Host Frank Garcia Arrested on Assault Charges. According to a story in the Charlotte Observer, afternoon drive sports talk host Frank Garcia was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female last Saturday (12/8). The report indicates Garcia is not related to the 29-year-old woman who suffered minor injuries in the incident. Garcia – a former Carolina Panthers offensive lineman – co-hosts the afternoon show on Entercom’s WFNZ, Charlotte “The Fan” with Kyle Bailey. He is also an assistant coach for the Charlotte Catholic High School football team.
Harry Hurley Guests on Brian Kilmeade Show. Pictured above is WPGG, Atlantic City morning personality Harry Hurley (left) with FOX News Channel and FOX News Radio star Brian Kilmeade (right) on Monday morning (12/10). Hurley is a regular fill-in for Todd Starnes on his FOX News Radio syndicated program.
ABC Radio Offering End-of-Year Programming. Affiliates of ABC Radio are being offered five long-form shows and eight short-form programs for year-end programming. The long-form shows include: “Journeys of Faith” featuring the most memorable moments from ABC News senior national correspondent Paula Faris’ popular podcast of the same name; “Playback 2018,” a one-hour special anchored by ABC News correspondents Cheri Preston and Aaron Katersky featuring an in-depth look at the biggest stories of the year; “2018: As It Happened,” a three-hour retrospective of some of 2018’s top stories, as told through highlights of ABC News Radio’s breaking news coverage; “Perspective” is a special year-end edition of ABC News’ award-winning weekly newsmagazine; and “World News This Year” takes a look back at the major news events of the past year in 2018’s final edition of this weekly show.
Trump-Democrats Meeting, Trump-Russia Investigation, Cohen Sentenced, Immigration Issues, Google Congressional Testimony, May Survives/Brexit Issue, Time’s Person of the Year, Financial Markets Activity, and NFL Action Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (12/12). Tuesday’s White House meeting between President Trump and democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer over funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall; the Robert Mueller-led investigation into possible connections between Trump campaign operatives and Russian agents; former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sentenced to three years; the migrants in Tijuana and immigration reform; Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about political bias; British Prime Minister Theresa May survives a no-confidence vote and the Brexit challenges; Time’s “Person of the Year” are journalists from the U.S., Myanmar, the Philippines, and Jamal Khashoggi; the world’s financial markets activity; and NFL action were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
Music Radio News and Career Moves. In Miami, Entercom names Jessie Penate, a.k.a. DJ JPS, evening personality and music director for CHR WPOW “Power 96.” He’s been with the station since 2016 when he joined as a mixer after winning the station’s “Mix
Master” competition. He says, “I’m thrilled to continue this journey on the station I grew up listening to, working with a talented team filled with passion and energy.”…..iHeartMedia and Fox Broadcasting Company announce the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live Thursday, March 14, 2019 on FOX-TV, from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The event will once again broadcast live simultaneously on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio. iHeartMedia president of entertainment enterprises John Sykes says, “This is a show that is truly controlled by music fans, because it celebrates the artists and songs that they listened to all year long on our 850 broadcast radio stations and the iHeartRadio app. FOX has established itself as a premier television destination for music fans, which has made it a natural home for our Awards.”…..February’s 61st GRAMMY Awards will once again include Westwood One as the official broadcast partner in which radio stations will be offered a comprehensive array of special programming and exclusive content. Westwood One will welcome select local stations and national programs to its Westwood One Backstage at the GRAMMY Awards, which takes place in the days leading up to the February 10 television broadcast. It will also offer a two-hour “GRAMMYs Nomination Special” airing February 2-3 in CHR/hot AC, AC, and urban formats; “GRAMMYs Week Highlights,” airing February 4-10; and the “GRAMMYs Red Carpet Countdown.”…..Marker Broadcasting’s adult contemporary KJJZ, Palm Springs “KOOL 95.9 FM” adds Premiere Networks’ Delilah for evenings…..Cumulus Media’s CHR WRQX, Washington announces the winning schools in its 2nd Annual mix107.3 Holiday Choir Competition. The competition was divided into two categories – kindergarten through 8th grade and high school. North Bethesda Middle School in Bethesda, Maryland won in the first category and gets $2,500 for its music program and Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland won the high school division and will receive $5,000 for its music education program…..Entercom’s country WUSY, Chattanooga “US 101” is seeking a midday personality. Find all the information about applying here.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Radio Coming to Aid of Harvey Victims in Form of Fundraisers. Radio stations and radio companies are concentrating their efforts to assist those in Texas affected by Harvey by raising money on-air, mostly for the American Red Cross. Today at 4:29 pm, more than 30 Chicago area radio stations will simultaneously air a spot for the Red Cross urging Chicagoans to contribute to relief efforts. The move was orchestrated by the Radio Broadcasters of Chicagoland. Chairman Matt Scarano says, “We are using the power of radio in both English and Spanish to help out those in need. In a time of crisis, Chicago radio is willing to help in any way we can.” Premiere Networks’ nationally syndicated Bobby Bones country morning show kicked off its fourth annual Joy Week celebration on Monday, and has raised more than $150,000 to benefit the Hurricane Harvey relief effort through the sale of #PimpinJoy apparel, (as well as more than $50,000 benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital). Country stars Maren Morris and Brett Eldredge have appeared on the show encouraging listeners to choose joy, spread happiness and do good things for others. Limited-edition neon #PimpinJoy apparel was made available for purchase with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Harvey victims. Summit Media’s classic rock WBPT, Birmingham “106.9 The Eagle” is airing a “Pay to Play” on-air donation drive today from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The station is asking listeners to call and make a $25 minimum donation to the American Red Cross along with their song request. No matter the request or genre, if the station can find the songs, they will play the music. E.W. Scripps’ Springfield, Missouri cluster – country KTTS, news/talk KSGF, CHR KSPW, and adult hits KRVI – raised $7,151 for Harvey victims after a three-hour event today (8/30) at the Battlefield Mall. Money raised will go to Convoy of Hope.
CBS RADIO Houston FMs in Constant Storm Mode. In order to provide information about storm updates, evacuation info, and disaster relief, CBS RADIO’s Houston stations have been in storm/disaster mode since Saturday. The company says the cluster is running a four-station, commercial-free simulcast of long-form coverage across KILT-FM/AM, KHMX-FM and KKHH-FM. Meanwhile, sports talk KIKK is airing a continuous loop of evacuation information, routes and shelters. KIKK was granted Special Temporary Authority by the FCC to run for 24 hours during this emergency period. Also, Spanish-language station KLOL-FM is airing a commercial-free simulcast of Telemundo until further notice. CBS RADIO Houston SVP/market manager Sarah Frazier states, “Our employees are 100% dedicated to broadcasting the latest information to help evacuate Houston residents, keep them safe and connected to loved ones. This is a difficult time for everyone in the area but we are all working together to get through it. In emergency situations such as this, the power of local radio is undisputed, unparalleled and reaches everyone in the community. We are all proudly #HoustonStrong.” At Cumulus Media Houston, CHR KRBE program director Leslie Whittle reports that her station’s live, local coverage continues. “The whole crew is at the station, so Kevin Quinn, Freddy Cruz, Corinna Delgado and Phoenix (who have all been on the air since Sunday morning), are finally able to get some rest. At one time, we had over 600 reported areas of significant high water around the city, so of course one of the biggest services we continue to provide are road closure/high water updates at least twice an hour. We remain focused on keeping our listeners safe and informed, and I couldn’t be more proud of the job the entire KRBE team has done serving our great community.”
Harvey’s Devastation, Trump Visits Texas, Tax Reform Plan, North Korea Nuclear Threats, Transgender Troops Issue, Feinstein’s Trump Comments, MLB Action, and NFL Pre-Season Activity Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (8/29). The devastation caused by Harvey and the storm’s second landfall that’s bringing more rain to the region; analysis of President Trump’s visit to Texas; the Trump tax reform plan to be promoted today in Missouri; North Korea’s continued threats against the U.S.; the Trump edict preventing transgender citizens from serving in the military and the responses by U.S. military leaders; Diane Feinstein astonishes San Francisco crowd by saying Trump could be a “good president”; Major League Baseball action; and pre-season NFL activity were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
August Cable News/Talk Ratings Out; FOX News Channel and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Winners. That may seem like a contradiction, but the upshot of the August Nielsen ratings for the cable news/talk channels is that MSNBC personality Rachel Maddow was the most-watched cable talk host in both total viewers and in the 25-54 demographic. She was just ahead of FOX News Channel’s Sean Hannity in total viewers for the month – 2.783 million to 2.679
million. But FOX News Channel was still the most-watched network in total viewers in prime time, averaging 2.2 million. That continues FNC’s 14-month streak as the most-watched cable news/talk network in prime time and its 188-month streak as most-watched in total day and prime time. Back to the individual shows, after Maddow and Hannity in the top two slots for total viewers, FOX News Channel’s Tucker Carlson was third with 2.483 million, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell finished fourth with 2.352 million and FOX News Channel’s “The Five” followed with 2.351 million. Tallying the prime time numbers for the 25-54 demographic, FOX News Channel was in first place with a 466,000 (average over the month), CNN came in second with 418,000, and MSNBC was close behind with 410,000.
Former WBSM, New Bedford Personality Stan Lipp Passes. New Bedford, Massachusetts radio legend Stan Lipp died on Monday (8/28) in Florida at the age of 89. Lipp is remembered in the area for hosting the WBSM talk show “Open Line” from 1964 through 2001.
Radio Veteran Bob Shannon Releases Updated Edition of His 2009 Classic, Turn It Up! American Radio Tales 1946-1996 (Eckhartz Press, 2017) as an eBook. The book that Michael Harrison describes as “one of the most important books ever written about music radio of the second half of the 20th century” has just been released (in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley) as an updated eBook. Radio veteran Bob Shannon’s Turn It Up! American Radio Tales 1946-1996 (Eckhartz Press, 2017) features in-depth stories about 58 great radio talent and programming figures. The full list includes: Lee Abrams, Jack Armstrong, Dick Biondi, Chuck Blore, Jerry Boulding, Scotty Brink, Kent Burkhardt, Al Casey, Ron Chapman, Dick Clark, Frank Cody, Larry Daniels, Rick Dees, Tom Donahue, Ken Dow, Bill Drake, Paul Drew, Chuck Dunaway, Bill Figenshu, Alan Freed, Jack Gale, Les Garland, Bob Henabery, Dan Ingram, Ron Jacobs, Tom Joyner, Casey Kasem, Murry the K, Art Laboe, Larry Lujack, Bill Mack, Gordon McLendon, John McRea, Ruth Meyer, Robert W. Morgon, Bruce Morrow, Pat O’Day, Gary Owens, Dewey Phillips, Dick Purtan, Bobby Rich, Steve Rivers, Art Roberts, John Rook, Dr. Don Rose, Tom Rounds, Ed Salamon, John Sebastian, Scott Shannon, Rick Sklar, Michael Spears, Gary Stevens, Todd Storz, Charlie Tuna, Rusty Walker, Todd Wallace, Fred Winston, and Wolfman
Jack. In addition to updated information, the book features a forward by RAB president/CEO Erica Farber. Shannon tells TALKERS, “The book is a compilation of columns I wrote for Radio & Records (“Legends with Bob Shannon”) and allaccess.com (“All Them Big Dogs”) between 2001 and 2008. Secretly, I always thought of it as a public service to radio folks who weren’t familiar with our history, the second golden age of radio when top 40 was king, and FM was about to ascend to the throne. As for why I decided to release an eBook this year, it’s pretty simple – since the book came out in 2009, 13 of the people I wrote about have died.” Shannon adds, “The stories in Turn It Up! don’t focus on industry wide initiatives. Instead, they offer a behind-the-scenes look at the folks on the front line, the men and the women who created the radio stations that inspired so many to, as Paul Harvey once said, ‘run away and join the radio.’ Between the lines, a picture emerges of a time gone by, one that will never be repeated, when radio was an important part of American life, disc jockeys were stars, and their listeners cared about them.” Shannon concludes, “I believe that media in the 21st century offers unlimited possibilities, but I also believe that it would be sad to forget, or worse yet, to never know what came before, and how and why it set the stage for the future.” Shannon can be reached via email at bobshannonworks@gmail.com. For more information about the book, please click here.
Music Radio News and Career Moves. Radio management pro Mark Thomas is named market manager for Alpha Media’s Saginaw, Michigan cluster that includes news/talk WSGW-AM/FM, urban contemporary WTLZ, hot AC WGER, and country WCEN.
Thomas has served with iHeartMedia in the Riverside, California market and with Regent Communications and Townsquare Media in Flint and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Alpha EVP of the Midwest Region George Pelletier says, “Mark has great experience as a local market manager. He brings an exceptional understanding of local programming, sales and community broadcasting to the Alpha team in Saginaw. We are happy to welcome Mark ‘home’ to Michigan.”…..SAG-AFTRA and Spanish Broadcasting System are at odds over alleged labor law violations. The union held an event at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor to draw attention to what it says is SBS’ disregard for its staffers. SAG-AFTRA says some SBS employees at KLAX “La Raza 97.9 FM” and KXOL “MEGA 96.3 FM” were unlawfully terminated after a 2016 majority vote to unionize. The union also says SBS has “failed to negotiate a fair contract with the union, and refuses to engage in good faith bargaining over economics, including wages.” SAG-AFTRA delivered a letter to California Labor Commissioner Julie Su requesting her department “vigorously investigate the rampant violations of California wage and hour laws at SBS. Over the past 12 months, the company has also engaged in
extensive and severe unfair labor practices, which are currently pending before the National Labor Relations Board. It has also done everything possible to hamper its negotiations with SAG-AFTRA.”…..In Denver, Entercom promotes part-timer Rosa Jad to full-time evening personality on rhythmic CHR KQKS “KS1075.” Jad has been with the station for four years and says, “I’m super excited to be the new night show host for ‘KS107.5!’ It’s been a dream of mine for years! I’m looking forward to putting on an entertaining show for the city!”…..SiriusXM announces today The National will perform a special, intimate show exclusively for SiriusXM on Friday, September 8, to celebrate the release of their new album, Sleep Well Beast. The performance live from the Bowery Ballroom in New York City will air on the SiriusXMU channel.